CoLu Week 2017
by GemNika
Summary: Dates: August 6th - 12th, with the 13th as a bonus day. CoLu Week is back for its third year. Full details inside, as well as an important author note. (Rated M for a reason)
1. Introduction

**Welcome to CoLu Week 2017!**

 _Dragonshost_ is hosting Cobra/Lucy Week for the third year running! I know it's early, but I wanted all of you to know that it was happening and that, yes, I will _of course_ be participating this year! CoLu is life, you guys.

Now, because I've made compilations of past CoLu Week stories, this year is going to be a little different. Any days marked with an asterisk will _not_ be posted in this story, but in their own stories. You'll see titles for those particular stories next to the prompt below so that you can find and read the past entries before CoLu Week comes up, and give those ones a follow/fave that way you get the notification when they're updated.

When those particular days arrive (Day 4 and Day 6), there _will_ be an update on this story for that day, with a simple note that reminds you to see the other story that chapter's a part of, along with the story name. The update on this story for those days will be a couple hours _after_ I've updated the actual story.

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 **Dates:** August 6th - 12th, with the 13th as a bonus day.

 **Prompts:**

Day 1: _Blossoms_

Day 2: _Pool_

Day 3: _Endearment_

Day 4: _Hollow*_ (This will be posted in _Who Says Fairy Tales Are Normal?_ )

Day 5: _Serpent_

Day 6: _Invitation*_ (This will be posted in _I Married a Lunatic_ )

Day 7: _Frost_

Bonus Day: _Curse_

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This week will obviously be rated M (it's me, we're talking about... Of course that's the rating…). I'm laying down the blanket disclaimer here:

 **Please be aware that this is M for a reason.**

I don't do trigger warnings at the beginnings of chapters, so be aware that some of the entries for this year may be triggering to individuals. If you feel uncomfortable while reading my work, please stop reading it and find your happy place. If you do want to continue reading it, but you're unsure if it's something that you can handle, I'm more than willing to answer messages concerning the stories. So, you **_do_** have the option of messaging me and saying, "I'm concerned that this story might be too much for me. Can you tell me if [insert triggering thing] is in there?" It doesn't have to be super specific, but if... let's say, mentions of rape... are triggering to you, then just ask me. I'm more than happy to let you know what is and isn't in a story that's already been posted. Yeah, it's a couple extra steps on both ends, but that's the only way I see this being feasible without a tagging system in place like on AO3.

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Please note that the prompts marked with asterisks are continuations from previous CoLu Week stories. I'm doing something a little different this time around. Any CoLu Week stories that have been continued (either last year from 2015, or in 2016 and then again this year) will have their own separate stories. This is to make it easier for you guys to re-read them without having to search through the CoLu Week entries.

Remember: There will still be an update on this story during those days, but the page will be nothing more than a note for you to go to the other story where the prompt has been posted, along with the name of the story and maybe the FFnet url.

* * *

I can't wait to see what the rest of you decide to do for this. I'll be posting notes on my stories as a reminder when it gets closer to the event, and you'll see updates on my other social media doodlies as well as my profile. If you'd like to let me know you're working on something, or want to send me a link to a CoLu Week entry from FFnet, post it as a review on _this_ chapter or to my facebook page. I'll most likely put those links on my Tumblr with the proper tags so others can see them as well.

From the mods running it: "As always, please only use your own original content."

If you'd like your artwork or fanfics to be featured on the CoLu Week page on Tumblr, please go here: **colu-coalition . tumblr . com**

I can't wait to see what you all do. I'm so excited to write for this!

* * *

 **One last important note!**

The beginning of CoLu Week this year will mark my hiatus from fanfiction to work on my novel. I'm not sure how long the hiatus will be, but I've spent so much time focusing on getting my stories updated on this site that I've neglected the 50,000 words I already have written. And I'm not even halfway through the book! I really want to get published, and the only way to do that is to hunker down and finish the manuscript, then edit it like crazy. Then find a publisher to pick it up and market it.

I care about each of my stories, and I love my readers. I will _never_ abandon any of my stories, no matter how long they go before they're updated again. I know that not all of my readers will see this, but this seems like the best place to put the announcement since hardly anyone reads FFnet profiles.

So, I'm not disappearing forever. I'll still read messages, respond to some reviews, and maybe get a chapter written here or there after the hiatus starts. Because we all know that I have a hard time writing just one story at a time. I wanted to get some other stuff written before this hiatus started, but I spent all my time leading up to CoLu Week writing and proofing these stories for you guys. I hope they're good enough to tide you over until I return!

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Keep writing, reading, reviewing, following, and favoriting!

~~GemNika.


	2. Heavy Price has been moved

**I'd like to apologize to my readers.**

 _This story has been moved to a separate entry on FFnet_.

You can find this entry under the story _Heavy Price_.

Sorry for the inconvenience. I just really want to make it easier for those of you who end up re-reading these stories, that way you're not forced to click all over the place just to read one story.

If you're here for the CoLu Week 2017 stuff, then click on over to the next chapter!


	3. Day 2 - Ace of Hearts, Pt 1

**A/N: After the dark chapter from yesterday, and the CoLu BrOTP-ness of it (sort of? I don't know), I hope you guys enjoy something a little more…** _ **not**_ **like that. I had some questions about how yesterday's story fit with the prompt. It didn't. Not on the surface. Sometimes, I prefer to just use the word as a jumping off point and see where the thing takes me. I mean, the original thought was that the bloody fingerprints on the letter looked like flower blossoms, but then by the time I finished writing it, I didn't like having the prompt word there... so I took it out.**

 **But enough about that! Today, you can have a modern AU thing. I may one day decide to write more to expand on this universe. I'm not entirely sure, but the different things that came to mind while writing made me curious to see what else there is in my brain for it.**

 **(Which is why there's gonna be another chapter for this tomorrow…)**

 **Also, there's a special note at the end concerning the version of Lucy in this. I'd put it here, but I want you to just read it for yourselves without getting any spoilers from me.**

 **And super huge thanks to** _ **Apriiil**_ **for reading through this and reassuring me that I wasn't fucking it all up. And another super huge thanks to** _ **LittlePrincessNana**_ **for teaching me a metric fuckton about biker gangs. Seriously. Both of you fucking rock.**

* * *

 _ **2017 - Pool**_

 _ **Ace of Hearts, Part 1**_

* * *

Lucy pulled the grey fuzzy blanket from between her sofa cushions and wrapped it around her shoulders, then set about cleaning up the dark living room. Soda cans were tossed into her empty popcorn bowl along with a Pop Tart wrapper and the cookie container she'd finished off earlier during her Netflix binging. Before she could lift the bowl, a heavy thud sounded from the kitchen window.

She jolted and whirled in place, peering through the darkness with wide eyes. She couldn't see a thing. Normally that wasn't a problem for her, considering she'd lived in that house for the past six years, but when the window behind the couch started rattling, she got just a little freaked out. It was a bit of a bad habit of hers to leave that one unlocked. No one knew about that, as far as she knew. She couldn't find it in herself to move when the latch unhooked and the window started sliding open. Those self defense classes she'd taken at Laxus' request were a bunch of bullshit if she couldn't even muster up the will to do something.

She could think about it, but her legs just wouldn't move. Slam the window down on the shadow climbing into her house. Grab a poker from her fireplace and knock them out. Grab her phone from where it had most likely sandwiched itself beneath the couch cushions and call the police, then wait for Laxus to come barreling down the road in his police cruiser and pull a Big Brother Beatdown on whoever was breaking into her house.

None of that happened though. Not even when the person's foot caught on the drapes and they tumbled inside with a low groan.

"Motherfucker."

Lucy frowned. She would know that voice anywhere. She reached down and switched on the light for the ceiling fan only to find a head of wet maroon hair slowly rising from the floor. "Really, Erik?"

"Shut up and close the damn window," he hissed. Was he shivering? It sure sounded like his voice was a little on the shaky side. "Hurry."

Lucy shook her head and rushed around the couch. Her hands slipped between the drapes to find bitter winter winds gusting past and heavy flurries of snow pouring down onto the already pristinely white ground. She'd forgotten the forecast said there would be some snowfall that night. She slammed the window shut and locked it, then turned around to find Erik kneeling on the floor with his hands moving quickly over his arms to warm himself. "What the hell were you doing out there?"

He shook his head and forced himself to stand, and she followed closely behind while he stumbled toward her bathroom. He was stubborn as always, but that didn't stop her from following him right into the bathroom. Lucy simply stood there, waiting for a response, as he pulled his soaked black thermal shirt off and tossed it to the floor. While admiring the large snake tattoo that coiled its way up his spine, she heard his belt buckle clink. She'd been with him the day he got it done. All twelve hours of tattooing just for the outline and some of the color. Then a month later, when he'd gone back to have it finished, she'd been the only one to see him crying when it really hurt the most.

He shifted, bent slightly, and his pants and the grey and gold boxers beneath were gone. He kicked the black denim off to the corner and ripped his socks off. When had he removed his boots? She didn't remember seeing them come off. Then again, it was a little distracting, watching his deeply tanned skin shift over his muscles as he disrobed. She'd always loved how dark his skin was.

Erik opened the glass shower door, turned on the taps and hopped right in, not even waiting for the water to warm. If he'd been trudging through the snow, she really couldn't blame him for it. Her cold water was probably a whole lot more comfortable than what he'd been walking through.

The question was… Why the hell had he been out there in the first place? Why hadn't she heard his motorcycle roaring through her neighborhood? And why didn't he just come to her front door like a civilized human being?

"Are you going to talk to me?" she asked.

"... Maybe." Well, that was something, at least. In her experience a _maybe_ was whole leagues ahead of no response, or even him cursing. "Fuck, I'm f-freezing. Come warm m-me up."

"If you'd waited for the water to get hot-"

"T-Too cold."

Lucy rolled her eyes and let the blanket around her shoulders drop to the floor. There was no getting around it, and she knew that. Erik was the weirdest friend she'd ever had, with fewer personal boundaries than even Natsu. At least, he'd always been that way with her. Macbeth had known him since they were kids, and even he got a solid backhand from Erik on more than one occasion for getting too close to touching him.

She removed her flannel pajamas and pulled out two towels, along with the towel warmer Laxus had given her for her birthday earlier that year. Once they were heating up, he pushed the door open and all but dragged her inside the shower. His hands were freezing where they ghosted over her lower back, forcing her away from them and closer to his very naked body. His nose was like ice where it pressed against her pulse.

Because of the dropping temperatures, it took longer than usual for her water to warm. Lucy's arms wound around his shivering body and he hummed quietly in response. "Erik, you're like a big ice cube."

"Don't walk in the s-snow when you're already w-wet," he muttered. "Shit, you're so warm."

"What were you doing?" she asked. She didn't even mind the way his hands slid over her back until she was flush against him. One hand sifted through his hair, pulling bits of ice out of the maroon strands.

"Fucking bullshit," he said. "Gajeel threw me in a goddamn pool."

"He what?!"

Erik nodded and let out a shuddering breath. "Club meeting with all the guys," he said. "Gajeel threw me into the pool. My phone's fucked up, and I wasn't gonna walk around naked where we were at, so…"

"So you decided to come all the way over here to get a warm shower?"

He nodded again.

"Where were you?"

"Slayer Lounge."

She knew that place very well. It was where she'd met Erik in the first place. Laxus had taken her down there on one of his nights off nearly a decade ago, and there Erik was. Dark and mysterious, trading barbs with Gajeel between shots of whisky that didn't seem to affect him at all. While everyone else got hammered, Erik was just the same as when the night had started.

The fact that she'd witnessed him making out with Macbeth, Laxus' boyfriend at the time, let her know later on that he was actually completely trashed the night they'd. He just didn't seem like it. At all. Granted, that tonsil hockey session had also been cause for a fist-fight between him and Laxus that ended with her older brother having a broken nose and Erik getting sent to the hospital with a fractured jaw. Laxus had broken up with Macbeth, only for them to get back together on and off for another three months before fully calling it quits.

Those were the days before her brother had become a police officer, when he'd still been a very active member of the biker gang. According to anyone who didn't know them, they were hooligans. Except they mostly just rode around on motorcycles back then, and then they started raising money for different charities. No one really knew about the good side of The Slayers. Most likely because Acnologia had been convicted of murder just before the gang broke up.

They still hung out at the Lounge. But everyone had gotten real jobs. Now it was just a place where they spent time together and bitched about being adults. They still went on their rides, and there were still a lot of things very much _alive_ about the gang, but it was so much quieter now that Acnologia and Serena were gone.

"Erik, that's ten miles away!"

"I'm aware."

"Where's your bike?"

"L-Lounge. Needs new anti-freeze mix for the s-snow." Her hands moved faster over his skin to help warm him a little quicker. The water was nearing scalding - the way Lucy usually preferred her showers anyway - so she pushed him further under the spray and went right along with him when he refused to let her go.

"Why did Gajeel throw you in the pool?" She always forgot Serena had installed a pool in the basement before getting killed by Acnologia. She still wasn't clear on the details of that, but Laxus said she really didn't want to know. When Erik told her the same thing, she'd decided not to question it.

"Doesn't matter." Of course he would say that. She should have known he wasn't going to delve into any of his business without her bribing him first. She could probably get it out of Laxus, but her focus was solely on Erik right then.

Lucy pulled back and grabbed her shampoo from the rack, then poured some directly onto the top of his head. She giggled when he sent her a single-eyed glare. He'd always hated getting shampoo right on the head instead of slowly worked into his hair. It was why she did it every time he was in the shower with her. Which, if she was being perfectly honest, was most likely far too often since they were only friends. His eye closed when she tipped his head back to rinse the suds away, and he let out a soft hum of approval.

"That's amazing," he sighed. Lucy shifted slightly when he grimaced and spit down the drain. Just like every other time they showered together. He was always spitting soap out. She still wasn't sure how Erik even managed to get it in his mouth in the first place.

"I'm amazing," she said. Her playful smirk was answered with one of his own, and they stayed silent as she went about washing him. The only time there was any space between their bodies was when she washed his chest and stomach.

"Did you already shower?"

"Earlier. It was Netflix binge night." She smiled when his fingers drifted over her waist and around her breasts, up to her jaw. She knew what was coming though. The same thing that happened every other time they were naked around one another. Her head tilted back and she melted into him once his lips met with hers. Erik's kisses were always soft, so gentle as his lips molded to hers. His calloused fingers threaded through her hair, drawing her closer, until she wasn't sure where his breath ended and hers began.

"Can I crash here?"

"Of course." He could always stay at her house. Erik knew that, but she found it endearing that he asked every time instead of just inviting himself over.

"Be my alibi?"

Lucy frowned and pulled back just enough to glare at him. "What did you do?"

"Nothing serious," he said, following her and dropped his mouth to her throat. Delicate nips trailed from her collar to her ear, then back down. "Acnologia broke out. Guys are saying I helped him."

"Did you?" Erik didn't answer. He let out a quiet groan while guiding her to lean back against the tile wall, kissing his way down her chest and pausing at her navel. Lucy gripped his hair and pulled him back, glaring down at him. "Tell me the truth, Erik. You never lie to me. Don't start now."

"Not knowing is better," he said. "Don't get involved."

"Too late."

"He's innocent." He wanted to keep her protected from the truth, and Lucy understood that most times, but she could be just as stubborn as him when she wanted to be.

"Tell me, Erik," she said, slicking back his hair. "You know I'll always keep your secrets."

"I helped him when he busted out, and took him to the others. Gajeel was pissed that I brought him to the Lounge, saying the cops would look there first. That I put Laxus' job on the force in danger because he's still one of us. Ryos took him downtown to Wendy's. He's laying low there."

"But if Acnologia's innocent…" Lucy frowned when he tenderly pulled her hands away and brought his lips to a two-inch scar on her hip that she didn't know the origin of. She shivered when he lightly sucked on the thinner flesh, her gaze never leaving his.

"We did it to protect you," he said, kissing his way to her other hip. "Acnologia never did a thing to Serena. I did."

"You…" Lucy's eyes closed when she felt his fingers inching higher on her thigh, closer to her center, slowing down to tease her even though he knew it wouldn't work, before finally gliding over her sex. "You killed Serena?"

"For you," he said. His fingers pushed into her slowly when her eyes snapped open again, wide and horrified and so confused. His slow strokes pulled no reaction from her. There were no breathy mewls or whimpers of his name. Her eyes didn't roll back, but stayed locked on his face, waiting for him to speak again. She didn't go weak in the knees when his thumb barely touched her clit.

The only way to tell that Lucy enjoyed what he was doing was her body's natural reaction to the increased stimulation. The moisture collecting between her legs, how he could feel her core tighten around his fingers when his thumb brushed across the slowly engorging bundle of nerves with more pressure than he would have used if she'd been anyone else. But her face looked as though nothing was happening, like he was just down on his knees to paint her damn toenails.

"Explain it," Lucy said as he gently kissed the golden curls above her sex. She pushed his hand away and lightly pulled his hair to let him know it was time to get off his knees. He understood it though. She didn't always want his face between her legs. More often than not, Lucy didn't want foreplay at all. Most times, she was much more willing to give him pleasure than to take any for herself.

Once he was standing, his focus was drawn to the light flush on her cheeks when she kissed him again. It took a critical eye to determine whether she was actually enjoying what they did, until he was inside her and ripping pleasured cries from her kiss-swollen lips.

"Be my alibi," he said. "I'll tell you the truth, but if someone comes asking-"

"You were with me all night," she said, smiling with understanding. "We watched The Bullock trifecta."

"28 Days, Demolition Man, and The Proposal," he said with a smirk. She nodded and his arms wrapped around her waist. He gasped when her hand closed around his cock and started slowly stroking him. "Fuck… You don't play fair."

Lucy stretched out her neck and her smile widened as his shaky breaths fanned over her flesh. His hips curled slightly, pushing further into her hand. "I never do," she giggled. "Now, tell me the truth."

Erik groaned as her hand twisted, stroked down to the base and back up. It had surprised him the first time they'd done anything like this, that Lucy knew how to touch him and make him quiver. She wasn't like him, or most other people they knew. She didn't crave a primal, physical connection with another person. He wasn't a sex addict by any stretch of the imagination, but where he would look across a crowded room and think a woman was fuckable, that just didn't happen for the blonde who was in the process of nibbling on his ear and turning his legs to jelly.

"What was the question?" Erik rasped. His forehead knocked against the tile just above her shoulder, and he pressed himself closer to her.

"You said he's innocent." She gently kissed his small golden earring. "Why would you kill Serena?"

Erik's hand slipped down and his fingers brushed over the scar on her hip. She grasped his chin and forced him to look at her, but he couldn't stop the soft groan from slipping out when they kissed again. She wanted to know the truth, and he'd said he would tell her. It wasn't something he liked to think about, and it was definitely something that he knew Lucy had forgotten. The human mind was a weird fucking thing. But if he could get away with it, Erik was going to do as little as possible to remind her of what had happened to her.

Thinking about it would kill the mood, that was for sure.

"He hurt someone I care about," he rasped against her lips. His breath caught when she stroked him with more purpose. "He betrayed the gang's trust." He wasn't going to say that Serena had hurt _her_. He wasn't going to remind Lucy of being drugged by Acnologia's best friend, one of the founders of The Slayers, and locked in a fucking basement. "God, your fucking hand… Shit, baby…"

He definitely wasn't going to tell Lucy that the reason she had nerve damage between her legs was because of the shit Serena did to her. They'd never seen it coming from the guy. He just didn't seem like the type to go off the fucking deep end like that. If anything, Acnologia or Erik were the most likely of candidates from The Slayers to go batshit crazy.

Erik hated thinking about it at all. He hated the knowledge that he hadn't tortured that bastard for hurting the person who was, as far as they were all concerned, the gang's baby sister. As far as Erik was concerned, she was the love of his life. He had cared about her, loved her, since only a few months after they'd met. Serena deserved much worse than the pummeling and broken neck he'd gotten.

Erik pulled her leg up onto his hip, grinning as her hand slipped away so he could press his hips flush against her center. With each slow thrust, he focused on how it felt to have her lower lips slipping around his rigid cock. Her tongue curled around his as her hands sifted through his hair, leaving no space between them. If she liked having her breasts teased, he would have already been touching them. But after years of being with one another like this, he knew what Lucy liked and didn't like. He especially knew what she was indifferent toward.

Instead, he reached between them and carefully lined himself up, then looked into her half-opened eyes. "Slow tonight?"

Lucy nodded, smiling while watching his single eye drift close as he pushed into her. Was she aroused? Probably, physically. She really couldn't be too sure most times. It was just something she still didn't understand about her body, but she didn't mind it all that much. She cared so much more about watching Erik, feeling his arms around her and his quiet moans vibrating through his chest and clamped lips. She wanted to feel close to him, closer than they were while just sitting on the couch. He wasn't like her, but she did this for him.

And that was something she was perfectly fine with.

"Fuck… You feel amazing!" He could never get enough of kissing her when they were like this. Her neck, shoulders, chin and cheeks and pretty much her whole damn face. Whatever he could reach was his for the taking. His hips angled, and he grinned against her throat when she let out a soft whimper. "Is that it?"

Lucy gasped when he pulled back and slowly, so perfectly slowly, brushed against some spot deep within her that had her fingers tingling. "Yes."

He did it again, and she couldn't stop her hands from grasping at his back, her nails from dragging over his beautiful snake tattoo.

"Right there?" he chuckled, nipping at her flesh.

"God, yes." She'd spent a good portion of her life thinking something like this was pointless. More often than not, sex just didn't matter in the slightest. But that didn't mean Lucy couldn't enjoy the tightening in her belly or how it felt when Erik's hips ground against hers. "That's the spot, Erik."

"If you move like..." A low groan barreled through him when she rolled her hips. "Shit, Lucy…" She'd always been quiet during sex, but he didn't mind it. After almost six years of being together, only feeling her sex spasming around him, her nails digging into his back and arms, her lips brushing across his cheek while she whispered his name so reverently… He knew there wasn't anyone else that could compare. "Just like that," he gasped. "Fuck, I want you so bad!"

She squeaked when he paused to put both arms beneath her legs, spreading them wide as he lifted her higher on the shower wall.

* * *

"Dreyar, you shouldn't be here." Mest slammed the door to his police cruiser and stormed across the snow-covered driveway, past Laxus' motorcycle.

Laxus pushed off from the front door and kept his arms crossed, meeting Mest at the stairs leading to the front porch. "If you're planning on questioning my little sister about Acnologia, then I'm gonna fucking be here, Gryder."

"How do you even know about it?" Mest wasn't quiet while stomping up the steps and kicking the snow from his shoes. "You're off duty, and-"

"And I got a call from the Chief. He said Acnologia slipped outta prison, wanted to know if I knew anything about it."

"I'm not convinced you don't."

Laxus smirked. He really couldn't help it. Having a good bit of height on most members on the police force made him more intimidating. Forcing Mest to look _up_ while trying to talk down to him was even better. Ever since his partner Lahar died, he'd been more of a hardass. And since Laxus knew that he wasn't exactly the _nicest_ during simple questioning procedures - Mest treated them all though he was interrogating a serial killer - there was no way in hell he was letting the bastard near Lucy. Not alone. Not without someone there to make him back the fuck off.

Because she didn't know a damn thing about Acnologia getting out, or most of the shit surrounding why he was locked up. She didn't know that Cobra had been the one to kill Serena for drugging, kidnapping, and then torturing her for a week. She'd been a virgin before that had happened (and thankfully, she was still one after), so Lucy didn't know that the nerve damage she'd suffered from was just… not normal. Even for people like her.

Laxus was just a little glad that she'd never been interested in sex. She didn't have to know that something had happened to her.

When he'd asked her psychologist about it - because Laxus had made sure he was with her for the five or so sessions she actually went to - the guy had said that she was blocking it out. Repressing the horrific memory. Maybe it was something in the drug she'd been given (Laxus hadn't told him who the person was to hurt her, since Erik had killed Serena the night they found Lucy), or just the experience that had made her block it out. The doctor has said it would be in her best interest to leave it in the past, and to bring her back to him if she started remembering anything on her own.

Either way, Mest could very well bring up something that might trigger a memory of some sort for her, and that was the last thing Laxus or any of the other Slayers wanted. It was the last thing Acnologia would want, considering he'd willingly taken the blame for Serena's murder to protect Cobra. Acnologia had enough reasons he could make up for the murder, and a reputation that supported it from his time in that outlaw gang up north. Cobra, while probably a little detached from his sanity sometimes, just didn't have the rap sheet like their last leader did.

"Well, if you're questioning my little sister," Laxus said again, "I'm sure as hell gonna be here. You do it by the book. No photos from murder scenes. No bullying her. You ask the questions you need to about Acnologia breaking outta prison, and leave it at that. And if you have reasonable cause to bring her down to the station for more questioning, you run it by the Chief and get a subpoena. It's a high enough profile case, so he'll probably take lead on anything happening in the precinct."

"She's not untouchable just because she's the Chief's granddaughter," Mest said with a scowl.

"I never said she was untouchable," Laxus replied. The two of them being Makarov's grandchildren had nothing to do with this. The old man was a stickler about nepotism.

"You and that whole gang of morons are suspects in this, Dreyar. She's been seen around town wearing a Slayer vest, and everyone knows she's part of it, whether she rides or not."

"I've told you once, and I'll tell you again," Laxus sighed. "Lucy was never initiated. She falls under the gang's protection, but that's it. If something happens that's related to the Slayers, she's not involved in it."

"I still can't believe you're part of that group _and_ a cop."

Laxus couldn't help but chuckle over that. "Nothing in the law says a cop can't be part of a motorcycle club. And since we're not a one-percent club, I'm definitely in the clear. But c'mon. It's cold as hell out here, and she's probably got cocoa, assuming she's not pissed about being woken up." He turned and motioned for Mest to move to the door first. Mest knocked and waited. When there was no answer, he knocked louder. Before Laxus could tell him to come back at a decent hour, the sound of some sort of glass breaking beyond the door had their full attention. At nearly two in the morning, Lucy should have been in bed. She was asleep at one like clockwork.

A low thud was the next sound to slip out, like a table or chair hitting the floor.

"Laxus-"

He shoved Mest to the side and pulled out his keys, flicking through them quickly until he found the one for Lucy's house. Another thud made him jump and scrape the metal along the deadbolt, and Laxus nearly broke the door down before he finally got it into the lock. With a swift turn of the key, he unlatched the handle and pushed the door open with a bang. He didn't care that Mest was on his heels while rushing into the entryway, around the corner and down the short hall that led to Lucy's living room.

"Fuck, baby… That's it. Ride me like a - _God,_ yes!"

Mest stepped around Laxus where he'd frozen in place, following his wide cerulean gaze into the living room. A vase was broken on the wooden floor with an overturned end table lying partially behind the couch. By the time he looked up at the occupants on the couch, with Erik holding Lucy by the hips and shifting to pin her, face down, while rocking against her ass, Laxus choked.

"Harder," Lucy moaned softly, turning to meet Erik's lips over her shoulder with her eyes clenched shut. "Erik, I'm almost… Mm!"

"Damn, that's what I wanna hear," Erik groaned, his hips snapping quickly against her and his hands kneading her thighs. "So sexy like this! Fuck, you're squeezing me so fucking _tight_ now! I… shit... I love you!" Lucy buried her face into the couch cushions, and her back arched erotically. "Oh, I love you, baby... Sexy little - _ngh_ , yes!"

Mest shook his head and turned back to Laxus. Before he could get a word out, Laxus grabbed him by the face, and dragged him right back out of Lucy's home.

Laxus took a deep breath once the door was closed behind them and the biting wind in the air chilled his burning face. He stared at the snowy footprints on the porch, and only remembered that he was holding Mest's face - and that he couldn't breathe with a palm smooshing his nose - when a sharp kick to the shin broke him out of his daze.

He glared at Mest, and loosened his grip just a little. "Did you see her?"

"Hm? Mm mm-mmph mm mm-mm-mmph!"

"Yes or no, Gryder. Did you see her naked?"

Mest quickly shook his head, his eyes widening as Laxus loomed over him. "Mm-mm!" he mumbled with as much emphasis as possible, gasping once Laxus let him go. He took a deep breath and carefully pinched his nose to make sure it wasn't broken or crooked from the vice grip his face had been caught in. "Dick move, man."

Laxus didn't respond, instead pulling out his phone and looking at his texts. Nothing from the guys, but they probably knew better than to message him right then with Acnologia's whereabouts. They would most likely wait until he went down to the Lounge to tell him in person. Nothing from Lucy either. Definitely nothing from Cobra saying that he would be there balls deep in Laxus' little sister.

It took everything in him not to storm back inside and rip Cobra off of her and beat him into the ground. No one touched Lucy. She didn't want people touching her, and he'd sworn to keep her dignity intact. When she'd told him the truth, when she'd "come out," in a sense, Laxus had promised that he'd do whatever was necessary to make sure she was happy. And if that meant fending off assholes who were only trying to sleep with her when she clearly didn't want to, then so be it.

He'd been under the impression that she just… couldn't do it. Even before Serena had done a thing to her. And afterward, well Laxus had simply considered it a win-win situation. She wouldn't question the nerve damage if she couldn't get turned on in the first place, right? And if she never had sex, then she wouldn't know it wasn't normal to feel… a whole lot of nothing, he'd thought. Apparently, he'd been wrong on that. Because the look on her face in there had been anything but unaffected by Cobra fucking her.

"So, your sister is-"

"You finish that thought, or any other thoughts about her, and I'll punch you in the asshole," Laxus spat. He sent a quick text to Cobra, and an identical one to Lucy, letting them know that he was outside with Mest. And if they would please hurry up, because it was cold as hell outside.

It unnerved him more and more that he could hear Cobra's groans increasing in volume as the minutes ticked by. At least Lucy wasn't a screamer, he guessed.

"I mean, I did see a little side-boob, but-" Mest groaned and dropped to his knees when Laxus' fist connected with his stomach.

* * *

Lucy smiled at Laxus and gave him a short wave once his headlights were on and he'd started backing his motorcycle out of her driveway. Her other hand had a deathly grip on the lapel of her fluffy lime green robe, holding it shut so no one could get even a glimpse of her cleavage. She closed the door and set the deadbolt, then leaned into the familiar chest that pressed in behind her.

"Sorry," Erik sighed into her hair as his arms wrapped around her. "I didn't know anyone came in."

"Me neither," she said, blushing slightly. "But it's time to finish our talk." She could admit that he was definitely good at distracting her from time to time, and Officer Gryder stopping by to ask a few questions about Acnologia's escape really hadn't been all that helpful.

No, she didn't know where Acnologia was at.

No, she hadn't known he'd gotten out of prison at all. She wasn't sure how long he'd been locked up for in the first place, but hadn't it been about six or seven years?

No, she was positive that her brother and The Slayers wouldn't be stupid enough to break Acnologia out of prison. If anything, they'd probably turn him in if he showed up on their doorsteps.

Yes, she knew he was convicted of murder.

Yes, she knew that lying to protect whoever broke Acnologia out would get her arrested.

Yes, she was still sure of all the answers she'd given Officer Gryder.

Yes, Erik had been with her all night. They watched Sandra Bullock movies. Erik doesn't particularly like them, but he humors her desire for funny chick flicks.

Then the same questions, plus a few more, had been tossed Erik's way. Lucy had tuned out when he'd been talking though, because she'd been just a little uncomfortable with the way Laxus was staring at her and Erik. That he knew what they'd been up to. But once the questions were finished, they really didn't have any reason to stick around. And Erik, the lovable goober that he was, blatantly said that Mest and Laxus could get the fuck out so he and Lucy could go to bed.

"Bed first," he said. "I need to get under a blanket and get you in my arms again."

Her small smile widened and a laugh bubbled up within her in an instant. "I'm already in your arms."

"Not horizontally."

"Pervert."

He grinned when she turned to face him fully, pressing her carefully against the door while her pruny fingers glided up and over his bare shoulders. "You know what I mean."

"You mean you're a needy little asshole who loves cuddling, but refuses to let anyone else know that?" she asked with a cheeky grin.

"Maybe, but I'm _your_ needy asshole," he chuckled. He didn't mind admitting that. He was hers and there wasn't a damn thing in the world that could change it. Lucy knew how he felt, and even though she didn't really see it that way, they'd gotten through that clusterfuck of miscommunication a few years back in one piece.

It had taken a lot of talking - which really hadn't been his strong suit at the time - to figure out that she just didn't care what it was called between them. Lucy considered them friends with some really wonderful fucking benefits. He felt like it was the two of them against the whole damn world. But she loved him, that much he knew. And in the end, they'd agreed that it didn't matter what it was called, because at the end of the day they were still best friends before anything else. They felt the same about one another, and that was all that mattered.

"Come to bed with me."

She rolled her eyes when he gently pulled on her hands, leading her through the living room and down the hall to her bedroom. She hadn't realized until she looked down that he was still naked. And with that, she couldn't help but laugh. Because that definitely explained why Officer Gryder looked so uncomfortable when Erik said he'd walk everyone to the door. He may not have liked anyone but her in his personal bubble, but Lucy had forgotten just how little Erik cared about his dick being seen by other guys. If there had been another woman there, he would have been fully clothed though. According to him, she was the only woman allowed to see him naked. That was just how he was. She definitely didn't mind that.

Once they reached the bedroom, Erik turned and pulled off her robe. His hands slid over her bare hips and waist, then clasped at the small of her back. "Much better."

"I still don't understand this obsession with nudity," she giggled. A squeal, part laughter and part surprise, slipped past her lips when he lifted her and toppled onto the bed so they were lying beside each other.

"You have nice skin," he said with a shrug. They shifted on the bed until they were both lying on the pillows, snuggling beneath the thick blanket and between flannel sheets. "Now, what do you want to know?"

Her eyes closed as he started toying with the mostly dried ends of her hair. "I won't make you go into details," she said softly. She knew that Erik was secretive about a lot of things, and for good reason. He never directly lied to her, but there was a big difference between keeping things from her for her safety, and Lucy asking about those things. If she asked, he'd tell her. But Lucy didn't want to know all the gritty details. She just wanted to understand what had been kept from her concerning Acnologia's arrest.

She already understood that there was a lot about the Slayers that he would never tell her unless she was fully initiated and started riding her own bike. Being a rider didn't interest her in the slightest.

"Good, because I really don't want to," he muttered.

"I know you guys are close though," she said. Her honey eyes drifted open to look at him in the darkened room. She could barely make out his face in the dim orange glow from her nightlight by the door. "No one's ever really told me how the gang started."

"That's not a story for tonight," he said. She pouted, and he chuckled while brushing his nose against hers. "I'll tell you some other time, just not tonight."

"Fine," she sighed. "Can you at least tell me why he would take the fall for you?"

"Because he didn't want me to go to prison."

"But, if you're guilty, then…"

"I've got a clean slate," he said. "He didn't want me or any of the others to get into trouble and ruin our chances of making something of ourselves. That's why he said he was guilty, and that none of us knew about it, to keep the gang as a whole out of the papers over the whole thing."

"Well, Laxus always wanted to be a cop, because of Gramps," she mused.

"And if he'd gotten mixed up in the Serena thing, if it had been anyone but Acnologia that had gotten convicted, Laxus' name would have been dragged through the fucking mud," he said. "He never would've become a cop."

"And all the guys know that he didn't do it?"

Erik nodded. "They all know it was me. None of them would have done something like that to Serena for what he did. Acnologia even tried to stop me."

"Do I want to know why?"

"... No."

A sad smile lifted her lips while her fingers brushed across the stubble on his jaw. "Alright," she said. He was getting tense, which meant the things she was asking were making him uncomfortable. Knowing Erik, that meant she didn't have many questions left before he asked her to drop the whole thing.

"He would've taken the blame for any of us," Erik said. "He already had a record from when he was a teenager. It wasn't anything like murder, but… Well, arson and burglary… Some grand theft and assault. Murder's not that far of a stretch with his record."

"That makes sense, I guess. But he got fifteen years. He threw that away to protect you, Erik."

"He technically only threw away seven years."

"That's not the point, and you know it," she said with a frown. "He cares about you guys, sure, but that's a lot of time…" She cringed when he let out a long breath through his nose. Maybe she'd gotten a little too pushy there. It wasn't her intent to make him feel guilty about the whole thing though.

"You mean to say," he said slowly, "That you don't get why he'd give up his freedom for so long?"

"Well…" Lucy looked into his eye. His hand trailed down from her hair to her back, and the slow, soothing circles he drew along her spine with the tips of his fingers helped to put her at ease. His own way of letting her know that he was making sure he understood what she was asking. "Yeah," she finally said. "I don't get it."

"He's my dad, Lucy."

"Huh?"

"Acnologia's my dad. And I don't mean in the sense that Gajeel and Natsu and the others all called him Pops, or how he was like a Slayer Dad or some shit. I mean, he's my biological father."

"You…" That was _not_ what she'd been expecting to hear.

Erik chuckled. He was more tense than before. "He gave my mom the boot when I was about a year old. He found out she was popping pills and not taking care of me, so he raised me on his own. Serena helped a bit though. He was always Aunt Serena." She could hear him smiling as he spoke. "Pissed him off so fucking much when I started calling him that. But Acnologia just laughed it off."

"You don't call him dad."

"You're right," Erik said. "Because when he and Serena made The Slayers, there were a few others around at the time. I don't remember their real names. He called them shit like Igneel and Skiadrum. There was even this beautiful woman he called Grandine. Sweet as could be, but she had one hell of a right hook when anyone assumed she was only able to ride bitch. Everyone always called him Acnologia. I was maybe five at the time, hanging out at the Lounge and drawing or something stupid. I heard it so often that I just started calling him that."

"I'm guessing he didn't mind it," she giggled. They'd known each other since she was barely old enough to drink, and not once had he told her any of this. It made her wonder what else she didn't know about Erik.

"Nah, he thought it was pretty funny," he said. "But when I told him I wanted to join, he said I didn't even need to ask. I was part of the group from the start, he told me. All I needed was a nickname."

Lucy snuggled into his embrace, and pressed a gentle kiss to his chest. "Ah, that would be where the Cobra thing came from."

"Damn straight."

"So, because he wanted to take care of his son…"

"My dad took the blame for what I did, and got himself locked in prison," Erik nodded.

"And then you…"

"Did what I had to. Took over for my dad, kept the gang going with a low profile like he asked me to. He told me a couple months back that Igneel and the others had their own chapter started up further south, but I had to keep Natsu and everyone here..."

He honestly did expect Lucy to think this was all too much, to finally pull away from him and say that she couldn't take the partially shady lifestyle he still lived. Even though he'd been raised by Acnologia, had seen the rise and fall of The Slayers, Erik still held it all close to his heart. His old man had never tried to keep his own past hidden. They actually had a shitty little scrapbook with his mugshots and police reports in it that he'd showed Erik on several occasions.

But no matter how many horrible things his father had done before having a kid, Acnologia cleaned his act up. He'd made a biker bar and a biker gang, of sorts. But they didn't go around breaking into places or tearing shit up like some did. That was the life he'd left behind, when he retired from that outlaw gang up north. With a son on the way, Acnologia had found a way to get permission to start his own motorcycle club outside of their territory, but only because he'd sworn it wouldn't be a one-percent club. Only because he'd done something unspeakable to get the hell out while he still could.

Erik didn't want to know what it was his father had done to get away from that old gang. Especially because he just couldn't imagine not being a Slayer. Even with Acnologia gone, he'd kept them going as strong as possible. But things were going to change. Now that he was out of prison, things were going to go back to how they were. Just as soon as they figured out how to keep him out of prison for good.

What it all boiled down to, in his opinion, was that they were good people. The original seven members had their hearts in the right places. And when they'd all had families within a few years of each other, the next generation came about. Except for Serena. He'd never had kids, and said he never wanted them. He'd always said that helping out with Erik was enough for him.

And then that bastard had broken his trust, all of their trust, and hurt Lucy. Natsu and Gajeel had brought in an outsider, and Laxus had fit right in even though he'd been an awkward fucking teenager. The blond had been the first to join outside of the original seven and their kids, and he'd waited a few years before bringing Lucy around even though it was common for members to bring a guest along. Gajeel most often brought his fucking cat just because he could and Pantherlily was the chillest cat in existence. It threw everyone for a loop when they saw the little black kitten sitting comfortably on Gajeel's bike. Erik had brought Macbeth over to the bar the first day they'd met back in kindergarten. Some people brought girlfriends, a friend here and there, whoever they trusted.

Apparently, Serena had taken one look at Lucy and decided she had to… suffer, maybe. It had been hard to tell what he was saying when Erik's hand was around his throat and the others were behind him, trying to pull him off of Serena and yelling at him, and at Serena, and Lucy was mumbling from where she lay in Laxus' arms, still in his line of sight and looking so dazed that it broke his heart to think of what she must have gone through.

If it hadn't been for Erik acting like a moron and throwing Serena's body in the damn river, the cops never would have found out about it. If Acnologia had just used some of his old one-percent contacts to get the job done instead, there never would have been an issue. But Erik hadn't been able to stop himself. Not after he saw her lying in that that cage on the cold basement floor with blue lips, and how she didn't even react when he fell to his hands and knees and crawled like a fucking dog to get to her. Not after he screamed her name, just trying to get her attention, to get her to look at him even once and actually see him. He hadn't been able to stop himself from hurting Serena when his damn eye had been gouged out by that asshole for _bothering Baby Lucy_.

No one called her shit like that. She was a Slayer Baby Girl. A little sister. Someone they all cared about. Not some twisted fucking torture subject.

Lucy's thumb touched the scar running over his empty socket, and Erik gasped as he was ripped from memories of the past. "Fuck…"

She smiled and moved so she was higher on the pillow and her arm was beneath his head, then pulled him closer. "It's okay, Erik." Her toes dragged over the hair on his leg in slow, random patterns. She didn't even mind it when he crushed her to him, not when she could feel him trembling or his shaky, uneven breaths on the tops of her breasts. "It's okay."

"Do you hate me yet?"

"Never." She kissed the top of his head. "You've got a dad who loves you enough to do that."

"I wanna go see him," Erik said. "Would you-"

"I'll come," she said. "We'll work it out in the morning on how to get down there."

"You have work though…"

"Fuck work," she laughed. "Pops is back. I'm sure he's in desperate need of some Grade-A Lucy snuggles."

"You're gonna make me fucking jealous." Cobra laughed quietly and kissed her bare flesh, pulling the blanket higher over his shoulders so Lucy was covered a little more. "And he might have gotten lots of cuddles in prison."

"He does seem like the type to get a bitch or two." She paused to simply gaze down at what little of his face she could see. "And you're the only one who gets the Grade-X Lucy snuggles."

"You mean the post-fucking naked ones?"

"Precisely."

Erik hummed in contentment while he cuddled closer. He could accept that. "I love you, baby," he said. He usually didn't say it unless they were having sex, and he was sure he'd mumbled it at some point that night already. Maybe multiple times. But Erik just really fucking needed her to know how he felt right then. How he'd felt for way too long before he'd asked her to go see some shitty B-rated horror movie with him the night before Laxus' graduation from the police academy. "So damn much…"

"I love you too, hun."

In moments like that, he knew for a fact she meant it the same way he did. She told everyone she loved them, usually with a bright smile and a little laugh that let everyone know it was purely platonic.

But when he heard it, the sincerity, the depth of emotion from just a few little words, Erik knew she loved him just as much. He'd been planning on coming to visit her that night anyway, just a whole lot more dry and not frozen to the bone from being thrown in the pool. But none of that mattered when they laid in bed together, holding one another. He could take the whole universe head-on with Lucy by his side.

 ** _.To Be Continued._**

* * *

 **A couple notes. And by a couple, I mean six...**

 **1\. Lucy is asexual.** I went into this knowing that I wanted to make her asexual. She's somewhere on the spectrum, and I'm fine with not trying to define it fully. I'm pretty sure there are enough hints throughout without blatantly labelling her _as_ asexual, because that's something that I really try to avoid in my writing. Unless it's crucial to say "Character X is gay/ace/demi/whatever," you'd better believe I'll avoid telling you that's what they are. I'd rather show you through the actions and narration, if that makes sense. And if you don't view Lucy as ace from what's in this story, then fine. My intention was to write about an ace character in a relationship, but different strokes for different folks.

 **2\. Lucy is not aromantic, unless you want her to be.** I posted some questions about this story on tumblr with the aspect of Lucy's asexuality to make sure I was representing the ace-community to the best of my ability. I got a couple questions from the information I provided there about whether she's also aromantic because of her refusal to say she and Cobra are dating. I don't see it that way, but you're welcome to see it like that if it's accurate and that's your own interpretation on her character. I see it as more of her just not caring a whole lot about them being labelled as an official couple. I didn't want to get into the whole aromantic thing with this story, because I haven't done enough research on it to really understand it. I have a very basic understanding, but that's not nearly enough for me to write a character who's aromantic and say with any certainty that it was my intention.

 **3\. This story may become a longer thing.** I thought about it, and I really like this AU. Part of it is inspired by the "Papalogia" AU by Eien (aka _papalogia_ as her FFnet/tumblr name), where the Slayer kids are raised by Acnologia in canon-present Earthland and so on. My AU has obviously diverged from that, considering he only raised Cobra and this is a modern AU, but that was the starting place for my inspiration with this story. Credit where it's due, and all that.

 **4\. I totally HC Cobra being Acnologia's biological son now.** I don't know where it came from, but their darker skin just made me like, "Why not?" I know God Serena's hair is "orange" and fan art sometimes shows it as something closer to Cobra's, but whatever. He's Acno's baby boy now. I also HC Gajeel being Acnologia's son in _other_ AUs in my brain… so keep that in mind. Gajeel isn't Acnologia's son in this AU though.

 **5\. The trauma Lucy went through has nothing to do with her asexuality.** I just wanted to make that extra clear. She identified as asexual before Serena got hold of her. The trauma just left her with some memory loss (maybe blocking it out, who knows…) and desensitized lady bits. She hasn't lost all feeling there, it's just diminished. If I do expand this at some point, I wanted to leave it vague enough that I could really get into the details at some other point, instead of in this story. I just wanted to make it super clear that her trauma is _not_ _the cause of her asexuality_. I'm not getting into whether asexuality is a result of trauma in other cases (not touching that with a ten-foot pole, guys), because for the purposes of this story that does not apply. At all.

 **6.** **Laxus totally misunderstands her asexuality.** It happens. His heart's in the right place, but he doesn't understand what being ace is like (as most people are when it comes to a sexuality that isn't their own), so he obviously misunderstands some aspects about Lucy's sexuality. Sorry, I didn't go into the whole "Laxus finding out his sister's sexually active and he can't process it" thing. Maybe if I continue it, I'll do that. Who knows…

 **I think that's all. I hope you enjoyed this story. I really had fun writing it, even though I was struggling with the smut in the middle.**

 **Just to remind you, tomorrow's CoLu Week prompt will also be part of this story. I was going to put them in their own story, but I'll leave them here in the CoLu Week entry for now. If I ever decide to expand on this universe past a second chapter, then they'll get pulled and placed in their own story on my profile to make them easier to read as a whole.**


	4. Day 3 - Ace of Hearts, Pt 2

**A/N: Alright, so this was not how I planned on doing CoLu Week at** _ **all**_ **this year. Normally you can find it all in one place, and the stories are stand-alone pieces. The inspiration was just very touch and go, so I clung to the things I could get. That being said, I really enjoyed this universe and I wanted to see what happened in the next part of it. I'm not sure if the story will end with this or if I'll come back at some point and add more to it.**

 **If I do, it'll be like** _ **Midnight to Dawn**_ **, where it jumps around in time. That won't happen until chapter 3 (if I write one) though, so this is a direct sequel to the previous chapter.**

 **Also, I'll put this here. I've tried doing some research on biker gangs/motorcycle clubs/riding clubs. Some of the information here is accurate, and other parts intentionally are** _ **not**_ **accurate, and others are unintentionally inaccurate. I don't claim to be an expert. So, for anyone who knows anything about that sort of thing, mistakes based on real-world information are either intentional or me just not knowing, but this is set in a fictional world, so… it doesn't have to be spot-on.**

 _ **Important note:**_ This is in regards to reading the rest of this story. There's a difference between Motorcycle Clubs (MC's) and One-Percent clubs ("one-percenters"). You know when you hear the term "biker gang" and you think they're a bunch of hooligans who go around breaking into places and committing crimes and things? Those are considered 1% clubs. There's an old quote concerning this, about how 99% of motorcycle clubs are law-abiding citizens. So the ones who don't do that classify _themselves_ as one-percenters. Not all MC's are like that, so please keep that in mind both in real life and while reading this story. The Slayers are occasionally called a gang, but they're in the 99% who don't commit crimes.

 **I** _ **will**_ **give super-duper thanks to** _ **LittlePrincessNana**_ **(again) for helping me understand biker terminology and mentality, and sharing her own crazy experiences being around biker bars and things.**

* * *

 _ **2017 - Endearment**_

 ** _Ace of Hearts, Part 2_**

* * *

They woke up just after the sun came up and got dressed slowly, adding extra layers because of the several feet of snow that had fallen the night before. Luckily, Erik kept several sets of clothes at her house for the random nights he stayed over, and Lucy had been given Acnologia's biker jacket to hold onto years ago. Erik's was still at the Lounge, and she had her own leather jacket with a couple minor patches on it that she still wore, so he had to settle for a sweater until he picked his up.

More than likely, Acnologia would be wanting his jacket back, and it would have been disrespectful for Erik to even _think_ about wearing it. That just meant they would need to stop at the Lounge for Erik to pick his up.

They got in the car and Lucy called Wendy while backing out of her garage. They were pulling around the cul-de-sac by the time she answered. "Mrrhh…?"

"Good morning, Wendy," Lucy said to the tired mumbling greeting. "Do you have work today?"

"Yes," she yawned. "At noon. What do you want?"

"I want to buy you enough breakfast to feed a bear," Lucy chuckled. She frowned when Erik took the phone from her ear and set it to bluetooth so the sound would come through her car speakers. So, maybe she'd forgotten to do that. "Is that alright?"

"... Sure."

"Want me to watch Carla for you today while you're at work?"

Wendy was silent for several long seconds, then she let out a quiet sigh. "Yeah," she said. "If you want to take my _cat_ to your place, you can do that too. Little asshole's getting stir-crazy and set off my smoke alarm at two in the damn morning."

Erik laughed at the sudden venom in her voice. Wendy never talked like that, unless she was really aggravated. It made him wonder just what his father had been doing while she was keeping an eye on him. "Sounds like you should put it in a kennel," he said.

"Maybe I should."

"Well, we'll bring the food," Lucy said. "I've still got a key to your place, so just stay in bed until we get there."

"Stopping anywhere else?"

"Lounge," Erik said. "I need my jacket."

"I heard Gajeel threw you into a pool last night," Wendy snickered.

"Yeah," he said, narrowing his single eye at the passing scenery. "If he didn't need to start on my tattoo next week, I'd punch him right in the taint for it." They talked for a couple more minutes until Lucy pulled into the parking lot of the Slayer Lounge. Erik gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and left Acnologia's jacket in the backseat of the car, then dashed to the side door and put in the code on the keypad lock to get inside.

She waited with the car running and the doors locked for ten minutes - having gotten off the phone with Wendy when she started snoring - before she saw him come walking back out with his leather jacket in his arms. He still had all the patches on it, just like back in the day, and she knew that he still wore it any time he was riding. Or pretty much anywhere. But with where they were going, it wasn't the best idea to draw more attention to himself with that roaring engine pulling up to Wendy's cute little brownstone. Which was why they were taking her car. Lucy unlocked the door and waited for him to get in and buckled up before getting back on the road. Of course, he would have had to take his jacket right back off once he was in the car, so it made sense for Erik not to wear it. Just another of the gang's rules. It wasn't until they were several blocks from the Lounge that he pulled anything out from beneath his jacket.

Namely, a pair of jeans that looked too big to fit him and two shirts, underwear, socks, a toothbrush and comb. Everything he could think of that Acnologia might need, that he hadn't grabbed the night before when Rogue had snuck him out of the Lounge in the first place. They were silent when she stopped at a fast food place and ordered enough breakfast to feed ten men. Acnologia had always been a big eater. Just like all the other Slayers, in all honesty. Even Wendy could put away two large burgers and fries when she wanted to.

She didn't bat an eye over the cost. It was the least she could do, and spending nearly fifty dollars on breakfast wasn't enough to dent her bank account. Then it was on to Wendy's.

"Are you worried?" she asked when they reached a red light. She looked over at Erik to see him staring out the passenger window, peering into the side mirror and checking their surroundings.

"We're not being followed," he said.

"I don't mean about that."

Erik sighed when she lightly grabbed his hand and the car started to move again. Their fingers laced together and he just took a moment to feel the heat in her hands with her gloves off. "Yeah. A little."

"It'll all work out though." She smiled when he frowned her way. She didn't need to look at him to know he was frowning. That was just his usual expression. "We'll find a way."

* * *

Lucy unlocked Wendy's door and went inside with Erik right on her heels as he held the bags of food in his arms. All she was carrying was her purse, but that had been stuffed full of Acnologia's belongings. Her jacket was on, and his much larger one was carefully draped over her arm Erik's jokes about her very own Mary Poppins bag had been pretty funny though. Once inside, she pointed him toward the kitchen and locked the deadbolt, then the chain above it. And the extra lock above that. She didn't blame Wendy for being cautious - even though she was a doctor and lived in a beautiful, quaint neighborhood - because there were some people who knew that she actually did have ties to the Slayers.

One of the many benefits of her tying her hair up and hiding it in her helmet was that no one could tell Wendy was part of their gang. She looked so different with short hair and dark sunglasses on.

Erik walked off to the kitchen and Lucy made her way to the living room. And there Acnologia was, still asleep on the couch with three fuzzy blankets thrown over his hulking body. He still had those pale blue tribal tattoos on his arms and face - not that she'd expected them to disappear. His hair was still the same silver she remembered, but maybe a little longer than it had been before. She could fix that for him if he wanted.

Lucy bit her lip and made her way to the coffee table, setting her purse on the floor and Acnologia's leather jacket on an arm chair. The house reeked of smoke, and she found a half-full pack of cigarettes beside an ashtray on the table. That must have been the reason for Wendy's aggravation with him. She wanted to move closer and wake him up, but she'd heard so many horror stories about people in prison waking up and being aggressive. She really didn't want to get choked out or punched in the vagina.

Those were the only things she could see happening if she touched him while he was still sleeping.

"Why the hell are you staring at me?" Acnologia muttered. His eyes stayed closed and his nose scrunched as he pulled in a short whiff of the air. "And what kind of perfume is that?"

"Rose something or other," Lucy said with a small smile. His eyes snapped open in an instant to stare at her. Maybe he hadn't been expecting her. "Good morning, Pops."

"What the fuck..." Acnologia sat up and watched Lucy's hands wring together nervously for a moment before she came closer. Just by a step. But then he stood and towered over her, just like he used to. "You're wearing your jacket?"

"We all do," she said softly. "Especially Erik. I hardly ever see him without it."

Hers wasn't nearly as covered in patches as the guys' or even Wendy's. She didn't have the top _Slayers_ rocker that curved around the gang's symbol of a dragon roaring into the air - though she did have the gang's emblem in the center of the back of her jacket - or the bottom Magnolia rocker that marked the gang's territory. She didn't have the MC patch off to the right like the guys that showed they were part of a motorcycle club. But to the left of the dragon emblem was her own patch - she was the only one that Acnologia had given it to, but that was fine with her - that simply had _SBG_ embroidered on it. _Slayers Baby Girl_.

On her breast was her honorary road name, Baby Girl. She hadn't been too happy about being called that all the time by the guys - and she was glad that she'd nipped them shortening it to _Baby_ in the bud as quickly as she had - but when Acnologia had taken her to the side one day and explained it to her, Lucy felt like she really belonged. She was the baby of the group, a younger sister for the gang. They cared about her, wanted to protect her, and even if she never rode a day in her life on a bike of her own, she was one of them. As long as she wanted to be. She wasn't a patched member, not like everyone else, but she was still one of them. And Lucy knew for a fact that there weren't many other clubs that did it quite like Acnologia.

When they were more active, it had meant a whole lot of something. It still did to them. But the few times other biker gangs had come through town, looking for trouble, that patch on her own jacket let them know that she was protected. She wasn't one of the riders, and she wasn't anyone's property or bitch - Acnologia _hated_ the gangs who used that tradition - but she wasn't an Old Lady, either. At least, she hadn't been back then.

According to Erik, if she wanted it, he'd gladly give her an _SOL_ patch. One that said she was _his_ Old Lady. Lucy had sputtered and nearly collapsed from embarrassment for several painfully long minutes that day, five years ago. All he'd done was laugh and tell her that it was up to her.

"Does it still look okay?" she asked.

"It looks perfect," he said. His eyes were still wide as he looked down at her, and it made Lucy feel just a little more exposed. But she'd had enough of the awkward tension, and rushed through the last bit of distance between them, jumping just a little so she could get her arms around his neck. "What-"

His arms wrapped around her so easily, and Lucy sniffled as tears gathered on her lashes. "Welcome back, Pops." Just like that, all she could think about were the long days she'd spent at the Slayer Lounge, how Acnologia had cordoned off a section of the bar just for her so she could work on her university assignments. She couldn't remember how often he'd been the one to come to the rescue for her, whether it was her car breaking down or getting drunk at a party and needing a ride. If it wasn't him coming personally, he'd sent one of the guys. But Lucy had always been able to call Acnologia whenever she needed help.

And now she knew even more. She knew that there was a kinder heart than she'd ever seen before. He'd sacrificed years of his life for Erik to stay out of prison, to keep his record clean.

"Aw," he chuckled. His nose nestled in her hair and he gently rocked her from side to side while her feet dangled in the air, and she hiccupped against his collar. "Don't go crying, Baby Girl."

"But you're back," she said. "A-And… It's been so long. And Laxus said I wasn't allowed to go see you, and..."

"No one was," he sighed. "My orders."

"But why?"

"Less contact the better," he said. "Less chance of anyone suspecting you guys would do something to get me out." He chuckled softly a moment later. "Not that it ever stopped you from sending me those books you wrote."

"D-Did you like them?"

" _Confessions of a Biker Baby.._. I can't believe you had my ass reading raunchy romance novels in prison."

"Sorry…"

"They were worth it," he said, grinning when he heard her quiet, teary laugh. "Couple guys tried to give me shit about it, but that picture on the back cover of you in your jacket shut them up pretty damn fast. And telling them that you're my Baby Girl."

"You didn't."

"I did," he smirked. "Even though I didn't have to. You dedicated the first fucking book to me."

Lucy smiled and squeezed him tighter than before. "For Acnologia," she said, "The most badass Slayer. And the oldest."

"Asshole," he snorted. "You couldn't just leave that part out, huh?"

"No way."

"I'll go wake up Wendy," Erik called as he walked past. He didn't even look at Acnologia, and when Lucy saw the decidedly cold shoulder he was giving off, her lips pursed and her brows drew together.

"Erik," she said slowly. Acnologia blinked in surprise when Erik stopped dead in his tracks. He looked back down to Lucy, still wrapped up in his arms and hanging in the air. "Be nice."

He sighed and turned just enough to see his father out of the corner of his eye. "Morning, Acnologia," he muttered before walking off down the hall.

Lucy rolled her eyes with a soft smile. "So-"

"What the fuck?"

"Huh?"

"What the fuck?" Acnologia asked again. "How the hell did you… I'm missing something." He finally set her down and took a seat on the couch after pushing the blankets out of the way for her to sit beside him.

"Not really," she said, wiping her eyes. "He's being an asshole like usual. It's my job to keep that to a minimum." Once she realized what she'd said, Lucy froze. Her gaze slowly drifted toward Acnologia and he raised a brow. His lips curled into a slow smirk.

"Is that so…"

"Um… So, how was prison?" she asked a little too loudly.

"Don't go changing the subject, Baby Girl…"

"Did you find a nice bitch?" she asked far too quickly. Her voice was too high pitched. She knew it was obvious, but that didn't mean she had to acknowledge it. "Maybe two? A whole gaggle of bitches? You look like you've been eating well, so that's good. Erik and I got some breakfast, so I hope you're hungry for some greasy food! I made sure to get your favorite, and there's some orange juice too because I bet you weren't getting all the vitamins you really needed while you were locked up, and… And wow, your hair has gotten so long now! Do you want me to trim it for you, or-"

Acnologia laughed as he watched her cheeks flush with embarrassment. It was the longest and loudest that he'd laughed in a good long while. His arm wrapped around her shoulders and he pulled her into his side, then gently squeezed her. "No questions," he said. "You got it."

Wendy stumbled out of the hallway with her long blue hair in a messy bun that hung mostly off to one side. "Cobra, shut up. It's too early…"

"Fuck no, I won't shut up," he growled.

"I told you," Wendy yawned. "No one called and no one came looking here. I'm a _doctor_. If anyone's gonna come asking questions, they'll come to my office."

"I just have to make sure."

"Erik," Lucy squeaked, drawing his attention to how Acnologia was still holding onto her and laughing. "Come hug him or something. I broke him! I didn't mean to!"

He blinked slowly while listening to Wendy pour her first cup of black coffee for the day, then his gaze locked onto his father's. "Let go of her."

Acnologia paused and cocked his head to the side, his smile widening further than before. "Oh?" he chuckled. "How come?"

Erik's arms crossed over his chest and his gaze shifted to Lucy. He'd promised her when they first started doing anything that he wouldn't say a word about their private life. She'd explained that it was easier if people just didn't know about it. She didn't want tons of questions about how she could "be with him" while still being the way she was. Granted, Laxus had found out the night before, but that had been an accident. He'd made her a promise, and he wasn't going to break it.

It wasn't like people needed to know about their personal lives anyway.

Lucy rolled her eyes when she saw the tension rising in Erik's shoulders and pursed lips. As far as she was concerned, it wasn't too big of a deal for people to know by that point. At least, not Acnologia and Wendy. Or any of the guys, for that matter. They were family. She wouldn't get hounded for answers by any of them. At least, she hoped that she wouldn't.

"Because you're hanging all over my…" He paused, still looking at her. They had never tried to name it. They'd never wanted to. He was honestly lost on this one.

"Your… what?" Acnologia's smirk widened slightly at the way Erik shifted from one foot to the other.

Lucy bit her lips to fight back a bashful smile. She could tell he wasn't going to say anything, so she said it for him. "His Old Lady." They'd been together, in a sense, for six years. She figured it was alright to call it that by then. It wasn't like she was really looking anywhere else. She'd never wanted to. And she already knew that Erik would have proposed by then if he thought she would let him. Or that she would say yes.

Which, when she thought about it, maybe she would. Maybe.

But with the way Erik's life was, there really wasn't any point in saying she was his girlfriend. She wasn't raised in this life, but for nearly a decade the gang had been a large part of life for her. And she knew for a fact that saying she was more than just some girlfriend was a big fucking deal.

A huge one.

She was fine with that.

"Old Lady," Acnologia said slowly. His arm slipped away from her shoulders and he looked down at Lucy's flushed cheeks before his attention returned to Erik, only to find his son staring at Lucy with a wide eye and his mouth hanging open.

"Yep," Lucy said. "Six years now."

"It's about time you admitted it," Wendy said before taking a sip of her coffee. "Everyone but Laxus saw all that sexual tension from you guys keeping it a secret."

"We don't have sexual tension," Erik growled, rounding on her.

"Call it what you want. You wanna bang her all the time."

"That's not the fucking point," he spat.

Acnologia snorted and shook his head as Erik and Wendy started arguing with one another. He could still remember the days when she'd been nothing more than a shy little slip of a kid hiding behind Grandine's white leather pants. All the kids had grown up, it seemed. Lucy definitely had. He was just glad that she hadn't let the shit Serena had done affect her. She was still able to be a normal girl. And the fact that Erik had snagged a beautiful woman like her… Well, he was definitely proud of his son for that one.

He was more than happy to slide down on the couch when Erik came to sit on her other side. And when his son's pinky discreetly wrapped around hers while they stuffed their faces full of greasy, delicious egg and sausage muffins and hashbrowns, Acnologia knew it was a long-haul kind of thing between them. Maybe if the gang had still been going as strong as it had before, they would have already been married. Maybe he would have been able to convince them to get married, so he could see her riding on the back of Erik's motorcycle.

He wondered if they ever rode around together, like he'd done with Erik's mother all those years ago.

"When am I getting grandbabies?" he asked. Erik choked on his food. Then again, Acnologia had been waiting until his son took an overly large bite to ask that.

"We're not there yet," Lucy giggled.

"Yet, she says," Acnologia chuckled. He waggled his eyebrows at his red-faced son. "You hear that, Cobra? No grandbabies _yet_. Soon though. Lots of little ones. Picture them on their little trikes, Cobra." Lucy started pounding a hand on Erik's back while Wendy sat by and watched. What a wonderful doctor she'd grown up to be.

"Hit him harder," Wendy said. "He's still coughing."

"Assholes," Erik croaked. "All of you…"

"Keep going, Lucy," she said with a smirk. "He's still _breathing_."

Acnologia grinned as he took a bite of his food. Their fucked up family hadn't changed all that much in the time he'd been gone. Wendy had definitely gotten funnier. And he was more than supportive of having another person willing to tease the hell out of his son on occasion.

* * *

Acnologia was surprised to find out that Erik had kept the apartment above the bar. He was surprised that the bar was still running in the first place. There was one big difference though. New locks had been put in place to separate the main floor from the basement, that had become the place for them to hold club meetings.

The only way to get down to the basement was with a key card, and the only people who had them were the initiated Slayers. Not even Lucy could go down unless a rider let her in.

The rest of the bar was run by a woman named Sorano and her business partner, Richard. They were friends of Erik's, and that was all he needed to know. They kept the business coming in, and revenue in the black. Most of the clientele was other bikers. There wasn't a new gang that tried to take over their territory, but some nomads had settled down and made the bar their go-to place for drinks. Every once in a while, there were some other gangs that rode through, but Erik and the boys made sure nothing ever got out of hand. They made their presence known when people even looked like they would make trouble, and that usually stopped it before it could begin.

The basement had been extended, that much he'd seen the night before when he'd been there for less than twenty minutes. But once they'd arrived back at Lucy's house, with her dropping Erik off at the Lounge to cold-proof his bike and ride over, she'd taken Acnologia to the room that he was going to stay in. She pulled out a scrapbook she'd been keeping of all the changes that had been made at the Lounge.

A bar had been added in the basement, and Macbeth was usually the one behind the counter. He'd forgone having a jacket or vest, since he didn't want to be part of the gang. He apparently just liked tending the bar and hanging out with the guys, and that was fine with Acnologia. Pool tables were now in the main bar and downstairs. The color scheme had changed a bit, with everything done in black, blue, grey, and white downstairs. He didn't understand the white, but Lucy just shrugged it off. She hadn't picked it, and said it wasn't her place to question anything about the design. The upstairs still looked like an old school bar with years of memorabilia hung on the walls, pictures of the original seven Slayers, and even more of the next generation growing up with their own motorcycles.

Lucy told him that Serena had been crossed out of every picture he'd been in with a red X by Erik. Acnologia definitely approved of that. It was something she hadn't understood - and it wasn't one of the better known traditions of biker gangs - but any other biker who came in and saw those red marks knew that the person who'd been removed had been killed by one of their own for betraying them.

His first home-cooked meal in seven years was everything he could have hoped for. Grilled cheese and a salad. Lucy was adamant about taking care of him, letting him relax and get used to everything again, and before he could even say something about how she should be the one relaxing, he'd very wisely been told by his son to keep his mouth shut and let her baby him. Apparently, that was what she did. Not all the time, but he could see a good number of reasons why Erik had wanted to be with her. When Lucy was happy, she pampered people. When she was upset, she pampered people she really cared about. And she baked.

Lucy was a whole lot more intimidating than he remembered her being when she said that he was going to eat something healthy to counteract the greasy goodness he'd had for breakfast. Anything was better than soup sandwiches made from ramen and questionable bologna.

"You're spoiling me, Baby Girl," he said when she took his empty plate away and started washing dishes. "I'm a grown man. I can clean up after myself."

"And I fully expect you to do just that," she laughed. "But not today. And no smoking inside, Pops." Her hand dripped bubbles over the counter when she pointed to the door leading out of her kitchen and onto the back porch. She didn't even have to look at him to know he was reaching for the pack he'd set on the table. "You go out back and smoke there. I have a fence, so the neighbors can't see you. And close the door all the way. I don't want smoke getting inside."

"Yes, ma'am," he chuckled.

"Don't worry, I get the same lecture," Erik said while carrying his boots to the back door. "It's best to leave your shoes here. Or get some slippers. You track dirt in and she whips out the fucking toothbrush so you can clean the grout like this is Full Metal Jacket or some shit."

Acnologia rolled his eyes and grabbed his own boots from the front entryway, then carried them through the house. It was spotless, and he wasn't going to be the one to make a mess in Lucy's house. She had a temper from what he remembered. Now that she was older, it was probably worse. Once he and Erik were outside, sitting on a pair of black wicker chairs with pale green cushions, he quickly lit up a cigarette. Then watched as his son did the same. "When did you start smoking?"

"When I started dreaming about Serena not being dead enough." Erik took a drag and exhaled through his nose. "Lucy hates the smell."

"It's a shitty habit."

"Says the one who's always smoked."

"I never said I was a good role model."

Erik took another drag and stared at the snow-covered backyard for several long seconds. He took in the familiar cherry oak planks of the fence, the woods just beyond the back border, the looming oak whose branches were bare and spindling. "You were great," he said. "You raised me to be able to function in society, no matter what I chose to do."

"And you're in a fucking gang. Great parenting."

"You went to prison for me," he said with a scowl. "Name someone who would do that for their fucking kid. Not just someone who says _I'd do anything for my widdle baby_ , but actually fucking goes through with it. You did that for me…"

Acnologia's hand came to rest on Erik's shoulder and he gently squeezed in reassurance. "Because we all saw you that day," he said. "You lost it over what he did."

"That son of a bitch betrayed all of us," Erik spat. "He took that brotherhood that he was always preaching about, chopped its head off and shit down its fucking throat."

"I know…"

"She doesn't know."

Acnologia paused in bringing his cigarette to his lips, then stared at Erik. "What do you mean, she doesn't know?"

"She doesn't remember," he said. "I don't wanna know how or why, but she doesn't remember any of it. Not the drugs or whatever he did. Not that fucking cage. None of it."

"She should know-"

"No," Erik said. He watched his breath puff out in a silvery cloud before his face. "She's happy like this. Not knowing is a lot fucking better than remembering what he did to her."

Acnologia was silent, simply staring at his son who had barely aged in the last seven years. He looked a little older, sure, and his tan was darker from riding in the sun all the time. But when he looked at Erik, he could still see the little boy who'd begged to sit on his motorcycle when he was only three years old. He could still hear Lucy washing dishes inside, the soft clink of ceramic on the metal basin broken up only by Erik's nicotine-filled breaths. The barely there crackle of burning tobacco followed by a sharp inhale. A slow, smoky exhale. Flicking the ashes. Repeating.

"Are you really okay with lying to her?" he finally asked. Acnologia crushed his cigarette and lit another. He was going to fucking need it with how the conversation was going.

"I have to be." Moments later, Erik did the same. "She's never brought it up, and she tells me everything."

"Erik…"

"Don't," he said. "Do you even know what he did? What we found out after you went to prison?"

"No. Regardless of what he did, she has a right to know. I won't budge on that one."

Erik looked back toward the house. He set his cigarette in the ashtray, then made his way to the door. "Baby," he said once it was open and his head peeked inside.

"Hm?" Lucy turned from the draining sink with her wet hands paused as they reached for a towel.

"Club shit," he said. "We'll be a while."

Lucy smiled while drying her hands. "You got it. I'll go vacuum. And I'll put some gloves by the door if you need them."

"You're the best," he chuckled. He closed the door and took his seat again, then set his attention on Acnologia. His smile melted away.

"She knows not to listen in," Acnologia said. "That's good."

"Lucy's been around long enough to know that it's better she doesn't hear everything the club does. Doesn't take a genius to figure that out."

"True, but you could've been a jackass about it." Acnologia smirked and ruffled Erik's hair. "Good to see you picked up a couple fucking manners. The TV is actually good for something."

Erik chuckled, but his humor was short-lived when he thought about what he was about to say. "I'm gonna tell you the truth," he said. "It's personal for her, but all the guys know about it. She hasn't told them, and she doesn't think they know, but…"

"They were there."

"Yeah."

"So, what is it?"

Erik sighed, tossing the burnt butt into the ashtray, then leaned back with a frown. "Wendy knows the more technical side of it, but… Serena… Whatever he did to her…" He was more than thankful that Acnologia didn't try to interrupt him while he gathered his thoughts. "She lost almost all feeling between her… her legs."

"... What?"

"She can't feel a fucking thing," he said softly. "Not really… I mean, there's _some_ feeling there, but… She thinks it's normal, Dad."

Acnologia's eyes widened at the sudden name-change. He hadn't been _Dad_ for years. Only when it was something really important. Only when his son needed him to really be a father. Usually to listen. Sometimes for advice. Always as someone to lean on. "How the hell does she think it's normal?"

"Because Lucy never _touched_ herself before then. She'd never been turned on or anything remotely close to it, from what she told me."

"How would she know though? If she doesn't remember what Serena did-"

"Because the first time I fingered her, she told me. She'd never done it. Any of it. She said I was the only person to touch her like that, and she just assumed that's how it feels. Either for everyone, or only for her because she's asexual, whatever. Lucy thinks it's normal."

"How is she asexual and still your Old Lady?"

Erik gave him a bland stare in response. "Really?"

"What?" Acnologia asked, shifting back a little in his seat. "I'm curious. I still don't even know what the fuck that asexual, b-sexual, pan-demi-frog-sexual… whatever the fuck it is… even means, so… Give a guy a fucking break."

"It's really not that hard."

"Then enlighten my old ass," Acnologia smirked. "In prison, there's fucking and getting fucked. It was pretty straightforward. No one talked about whether it was gay or straight or anything else. There's a dick and a hole. End of story."

"Did you fuck a dude?"

"Do you want me to answer that honestly?"

"Considering Macbeth is as gay as they come and he's been my friend for years, it doesn't bother me either way."

"Yes. Some pretty-boy named Rufus. He's got an eidetic memory, used it to memorize people's information while doing data entry for some life insurance place. You fill in the blanks."

"You fucked a pretty-boy."

"I can't fuck a pretty-boy?" Acnologia chuckled. "He came to me looking for protection. Big biker murders his best friend, that's the kind of guy you want on your side. We traded. Protection for him, and someone to keep me company."

"I just can't see you wanting a pretty-boy…" Well, Erik couldn't see his dad wanting to be with any man. But that really wasn't the point. If he _had_ to picture a guy Acnologia might be interested in, it would probably be someone like Laxus or Gajeel. Someone a lot like him - huge, muscled out the fucking wazoo, rough and tough. Not someone smaller than him.

"If Macbeth was into older men and didn't wear more lipstick than a two-bit hooker, I'd have hit on him too." Erik's jaw dropped and Acnologia simply shrugged. "I fuck who I want. Doesn't matter what the equipment is, as long as they're old enough and want to get fucked."

It took a moment for him to process this new information about his father. Aside from the fact that he'd admitted to thinking Macbeth was fuckable - Erik could admit, he was damn pretty - he'd never considered that his own father would be into men. Or anyone, really. Acnologia hadn't bothered with women since leaving his mother up north with that outlaw gang he'd gotten out of. At least, Erik had _thought_ he hadn't bothered with a relationship. Maybe he'd been wrong about that.

"But you were enlightening me," Acnologia chuckled.

Erik shook his head quickly. He just needed to reset his damn brain, apparently. "Lucy's asexual," he said.

"And that means…"

"She doesn't feel sexual attraction."

"But you two fuck."

"Yes."

"How?"

"I stick my dick inside of her and flail around like an epileptic chicken on six bumps of fucking cocaine for three to five minutes," Erik said. "How the fuck do you _think_ we fuck?"

"Apparently not like normal people," Acnologia muttered. His eyes narrowed when Erik punched him in the arm.

"She doesn't think of sex like you or me," he said. "She can get turned on - it takes some work, but it happens - and she can have an orgasm and everything in between."

"She just… doesn't… _want_ sex? Or…"

Erik sighed while leaning back in his chair, running a hand down his face. He was, by no means, an expert on Lucy's sexuality. He only knew what she told him, and what they'd figured out together on their own. She was still learning about herself as it was. He hadn't a clue where she fell on that spectrum she'd told him about. He didn't know the ins and outs of everything about it. He knew the important things though. He knew what applied to _her_ own situation. Fuck everyone else and how they experienced their own sexuality with the same damn name.

Erik didn't give a shit about them. Just Lucy.

"She wants it in the sense that, because it's something I want, she'll do it."

"That sounds selfish as hell."

"She gets orgasms out of it," he deadpanned. "Trust me, I said the same fucking thing. And do you know what she told me?"

"No," Acnologia said. "I'm so fucking confused right now."

"She said, for her, it's no different than us cuddling up on the couch and watching a chick flick."

"That doesn't really bode well for your skills, Cobra," he chuckled.

"No, I mean she likes those movies and I don't really care about them," Erik said. "Some chick flicks are alright, but I could go the rest of my life never watching another one, and I wouldn't lose any sleep over it. I watch them with her to spend time together, and because she wants to do it. Sex is the same for her."

"You could just watch some horror movie," he said.

"She loves horror movies."

"Action."

"We do," Erik said. "And if Lucy is doing something for me that she really doesn't enjoy - like watching some stupid Keanu Reeves movie or some shit - I don't even _think_ about bringing up sex. Or anything close to it."

"What the fuck, Cobra?" Acnologia whispered. "You have the-"

"If you say my relationship with her is weird, I'll kick your ass," he said with his eye narrowed and dangerous. "I'm closer to her than any skank I banged before meeting her. Because we do a whole lot more than just fuck constantly. Because she doesn't always want to, so I respect that about her and we do something else."

Acnologia's jaw snapped shut and he simply stared at his son. His hand flew up a moment later and popped him right in the back of the head, earning him a hard glare. "I taught you better than that. Don't call women _skanks_ or anything close to it."

"They were, asshole."

"Doesn't matter," he said. "Don't be a disrespectful little shit." The fact that he was able to watch his thirty-year-old son start pouting was definitely a sight to behold. He'd definitely missed that petulant lower lip and how his arms crossed over his chest. "But on the Serena thing…" Erik looked over at him again. "I still don't understand what all this has to do with that."

"Well-"

"But," Acnologia said, putting a hand up to stop him from speaking. "You're her Old Man. I'll respect it, and not say a word."

"Just don't talk about him in general. We put a club-wide gag order on anything to do with him."

Acnologia nodded his agreement. "Got it. That really won't be difficult. I don't like thinking about him in general."

"Good, because if someone brings that shit up and makes her remember anything, I'm calling up a friend of mine to handle it."

"Erik…"

He scowled at the snow that started falling, then lit up another cigarette. "This is fucking serious, Dad," he said. "I don't want her to have a mental breakdown or some shit because someone made her remember what she's better off forgetting. You've been gone for a long time, and I took over for you until you came back. No matter what, that's the one thing I refuse to change. You don't have to deal with them at all. I'll make the call myself if it happens."

"Who the hell agreed to something like that?"

"... You don't wanna know."

"Erik, you'd better fucking tell me." And all at once, he looked guilty. One of the few times that his boy was an open book was when he pulled out the _Dad_ voice. "More than being the fucking founder, I'm your goddamn father. So you tell me who you got involved in this shit."

"He doesn't know any details," he said softly. "Just that I might call him in the future if I need a favor."

"And _who_ is the favor coming from?"

"..."

"Tell me."

Cobra crushed his half-finished cigarette and stood, then started pacing back and forth. "I found your old address book," he said. "Called up someone from a branch of Spriggan."

"You fucking didn't," Acnologia growled. "Who the hell did you talk to?"

"Mard Geer."

"Oh, sure, just call the closest chapter and say _I'm Acnologia's kid and I know he swore to never tell anyone about a fucking thing, but he told me enough for me to be able to fucking find you_ -"

"Dad, it's not like-"

"You shut the fuck up, kid." He stood and grabbed Erik by the shoulders, looming over him. "What did you say? What did you fucking tell Mard Geer?"

Erik's eye was wide as he was shaken and Acnologia's fingers dug painfully into his shoulders, hard enough that he could feel them easily through his leather jacket. "I-I said that I knew they were a one-percent chapter, and that we weren't," he whispered. "I said… We might have a problem that needed their expertise, but it wasn't anything to worry about yet. I just… I asked for a favor, just in case…"

"You don't just _ask_ these guys for a goddamn favor and they say yes!"

"Let up," he said. "That shit hurts."

"I know I fucking taught you better than to _ever_ call them. No matter what the fucking problem was, you _never_ fucking call people like that! You know that!"

"Dad-"

"What did he want?" He shook Erik harder while pushing him until they were against the railing. "What the fuck did he want from you?"

"Dad, stop!"

"Tell me what he fucking wanted! What did you have to give him? What did you promise him?!"

"Fuck, I'm sorry!"

The back door flew open and Lucy rushed out onto the porch. Rules of the club aside, she had to break them up. She knew that it wasn't her business, that she wasn't supposed to butt in even if they were arguing, but doing that shit outside could get her neighbors' attention, and if they called the cops, that was it. "Cut it out!"

"Dad, you're hurting me! Stop!"

Lucy forced herself between them with her back against Acnologia and her hands desperately trying to pry his iron grip from Erik's shoulders. "I said stop!"

Acnologia snarled over her head and glared down at his son, but his grip didn't loosen. "You don't know what those people do," he spat. "What they're capable of. Why the fuck would you think it's okay to call the-" His breath left on a wheeze when Lucy's elbow connected with his stomach, but he didn't let go. Not until she reached down and got a handful of his dick and balls, and twisted. Pain soared through him so quickly he felt like vomiting, but Acnologia's grip on Erik slipped. She let go and he fell to his knees, holding himself and curling up on the cold wooden porch.

Lucy turned and pressed her hands to Erik's cold cheeks, looking up into his wide, horror-filled eye. "Hun, talk to me," she said gently. "What happened?"

"N-Nothing," he said. Before she could push any further, he crushed her to his chest and buried his nose in her hair. "It's nothing, okay? Just… I-I can't..."

"Okay," she said, wrapping her arms around his waist. Her hand shifted beneath his jacket and ran back and forth over his back. "I'm here, okay? I won't ask."

"You stupid motherfucker," Acnologia snarled, and his burning glare lifted from the ground to his son. And then he stopped when he saw how Erik's eye was clamped shut. If he looked close enough he could see the way Lucy gently rocked from one side to the other and made it seem as though Erik was the one doing it.

"It's okay," she whispered. "I'm right here."

"Don't baby him," Acnologia coughed. He was more than surprised to find her eyes snapping open and locking onto him.

"Pops, I love you," she said. "But shut the hell up."

"Don't talk to him that way," Erik whimpered. "Baby, come on…"

"No. He doesn't get to just come in here and treat you like you're in the prison yard and you stole his stupid toilet paper! He doesn't get to hurt you over something stupid."

"Pretty sure my genius fucking kid here calling up my old one-percent gang and asking for a goddamn favor earned him a few good whacks," Acnologia said with a sneer.

"Erik-"

"Don't talk about it," he said, glaring at his father. "You swore."

"Oh, I won't. But how about I give you a goddamn lesson, kid? You wanna know what you got yourself into by asking for something from them?"

"They haven't done anything for us," Erik said.

Acnologia groaned while standing. He made sure he was gentle while pulling Lucy away from Erik, and once she was out of the way, his hand fisted in his son's hair and he dragged him right back inside. Wet boots and all, he didn't give a shit right then. He didn't care about Lucy yelling at him while slamming the door and locking it as he came to a stop in the kitchen and threw Erik on the ground.

"Erik!" Lucy pushed past Acnologia and came to kneel on the floor, helping him sit up.

"I said I was sorry!" Erik shouted.

"No, kid. You don't know what sorry is." Acnologia pulled his jacket off and dropped it onto the kitchen table, revealing the pale blue tattoos dancing their way down his arms. "Sorry is how you feel when you're a stupid fucking kid who thinks his shit doesn't stink, and you learn the hard way that it does."

Lucy's eyes widened when Acnologia pulled his shirt off over his head and took a step closer to them. More blue tattoos were visible along his chest and ribs.

"Sorry is joining those fucking Spriggan assholes, and willingly doing their initiation, because you're so fucking _desperate_ to get patched and just fucking _belong_ , then realizing just what the fuck they convinced you to do." His hand was gentle when he bent and pulled the hair tie off Lucy's wrist. She and Erik watched in silence while Acnologia stood and tied his hair up and away from his face, then wrapped it in a bun. "Sorry," he snarled, "Is burning down every orphanage in the area after locking the kids and nuns inside, watching it burn to the ground, hearing them fucking scream…"

Erik's stomach turned the longer he looked into Acnologia's eyes.

"Sorry is being branded with a blue fire for every building you torched, and having to remember all six-hundred and forty-nine _children_ and the twenty-seven innocent women you murdered, just to be part of a biker gang. And having to look in the mirror every fucking day and see the proof of what you did, right there, staring back at you!"

They stayed completely still when he stood and kicked off his boots. He turned, revealing his back to the couple on the floor and the spiraling tribal fire tattoos along his ribs and hips and up into his hairline. He grabbed his shirt and jacket, then made his way out of the kitchen. He paused in the archway leading to Lucy's living room and looked down at them.

"Sorry is realizing that you're gonna bring a kid into the world, and that everything you've ever done is disgusting and wrong. It's knowing that you have to change things, to protect him from the world you grew up in. So, no you don't know what fucking _sorry_ is, son. But I sure fucking do."

"Dad…"

"Don't. I'm gonna get a shower, and then I'll call up Mard Geer and deal with this clusterfuck you made. I don't care what you promised him, and I don't give a fuck if it hurts our reputation. We never deal with Spriggans." Erik nodded. "Swear it," Acnologia growled. "You swear it to me right now, son. We're Slayers, and the only ones we can rely on are who?"

"Our brothers and sisters…"

"Swear."

Lucy stayed right where she was while Erik slowly stood and squared his shoulders. She really didn't know what else to do aside from watch.

"I swear, Dad. I'll never make a deal with Spriggans. With any one percenter. I-I'll rely on my brothers and sisters, and…" He stopped talking when Acnologia turned to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. His single indigo eye lowered to the floor. "I swear, I won't do fuck up again."

Acnologia pulled him into a one-armed hug and gently kissed the top of his head. His lips curved into a small, tender smile when Erik hesitated in hugging him back but eventually gave in. He heard the quiet sniffle that came from his boy though. Always trying to be a man about things. "I'll handle it, okay? You leave it all to me."

Erik nodded and stood in the same place as Acnologia walked down the hall toward the bathroom. He didn't move more than necessary when Lucy carefully eased his boots off, or when she stood and pulled his hands and led him to the couch. She said nothing while grabbing a tissue and blotting at the tears on his cheek, brushing his hair back from his face and kissing his temple. She held his hand and laid her head on the back cushion beside him, but she was silent.

"I'm so fucking stupid," he said. Because even though he'd been able to feel Acnologia's fury leaking from his pores and in the forming hand-shaped bruises on his arms, there was something he'd never seen before. Genuine fear. His father wasn't afraid of anyone or anything. But Erik knew he saw it. He was scared of the Spriggans. Scared of what Erik might have promised them in exchange for the favor. Based on the things he'd learned about his father's initiation into that gang years ago, he understood it. Erik really didn't want to know what they'd made him do when he wanted to retire.

"It'll be okay," Lucy said. "It'll all work out, alright?"

He turned on the couch and pulled both of her hands into his lap, lacing their fingers together. "Baby... I'm sorry for being so fucking stupid."

"You're not stupid, hun."

"I am…"

"You made a mistake."

"One that could've gotten someone fucking killed."

"Y'know," she said gently. "You told me a few years back that you weren't ready to run the gang, but you took over for Pops. The gang was his, and you had to keep it going. That's what you said."

"So?"

"You weren't ready. You did what you could and you tried to do the right thing. The gang's still together though, and that's what matters. And I've been with you through every shitty night where you can't sleep, through it all."

"You have."

"Because I love you," she whispered with a small smile. "And I think you're doing a great job keeping it together. And if you want to give the reins back to Pops when it's safe, then go ahead. You've got my support one way or another."

He sighed while she dabbed at the fresh tears on his cheek. "You're too fucking good to me."

"Nah, I think I'm just right," she giggled. "Now get your snuggles before your _dad_ comes back out here and catches us being all lovey-dovey and gross." Her smile widened when she heard Erik's watery chuckle and he leaned forward to press his lips to hers.

"Too late," Acnologia said. He grinned when they pulled apart and stared at him in horror. "God you two really are adorable, just like Wendy said."

"She never said that," Erik scowled.

"Oh, not while you were there. She told me you two were together last night. I bet her twenty bucks I could get you to admit it."

Lucy gaped at him, but she couldn't stop herself from smiling when he laughed while walking back down the hallway toward the running shower. She shook her head and turned back to Erik to find his face in his palms while he muttered curses under his breath. Things were definitely going to get interesting now that Acnologia was back, that was for sure.

 _ **.The End.**_

…

 _ **.For Now.**_


	5. This chapter has been moved

**I'd like to apologize to my readers.**

 _ **This story has been moved to a separate entry on FFnet.**_

You can find this entry under the story _Who Says Fairy Tales Are Normal?_

Although links don't work on this godforsaken site, here's the URL if you want to go that route instead. Just remove the spaces that are placed after the dots and slashes. Oh my god, I hate how the formatting is on this site.

fanfiction: s / 12556375/ 1/ Who-Says-Fairy-Tales-Are-Normal

(The link will take you to chapter 1, and is posted as such for those readers who haven't read the story yet. If you're caught up from last CoLu Week, then just click on down to the newest chapter.)

Sorry for the inconvenience. I just really want to make it easier for those of you who end up re-reading these stories, that way you're not forced to click all over the place just to read one story.


	6. Day 5 - Noodle Canoodle

**A/N: So, I had something written and when I sent it to my Triplets for their input, I found out that I'd ganked one of Nana's story ideas. Like, super hard. And I hadn't even realized just how badly I'd done it until she read it and pointed out all the different things that were supposed to be in her own story. I'd assumed that the crazy inspiration I'd gotten while writing had been totally random, but found out that I was just remembering the shit we'd talked about with her own story, while simultaneously forgetting that it was for _her_ story. I mean, that's top-level shit-sandwich actions on my part. So I deleted it and I'm doing this over again.**

 **All I can be happy about is that I found out I'd plagiarized before putting this story up, so I was able to fix my enormous mistake.**

 **So without further ado, I give you…**

* * *

 **Day 5: Serpent**

 _ **Noodle Canoodle**_

* * *

Cobra was sideways on the bed, on his back and snoring like a chainsaw. That, in itself, was weird. He never snored. The only sound he made in his sleep was the occasional clearing of his throat and grinding his teeth when he wasn't wearing the night-guard the dentist gave him. Based on the little note Midnight had left on the bedroom door, she was going to assume that a drunk Cobra snored. That was fine.

Lucy gazed down at her husband where he laid on the bed, then snuck back out of the bedroom, down the hall, and toward the living room. She didn't bother picking up her bags from her latest job to try and start sorting dirty laundry. She didn't even care about getting a bath like she'd been planning on doing just hours before while trekking back to Magnolia. Instead, she picked up the plastic bin from just beside her muddy boots and carried it back to the bedroom.

She took the bin over to the empty terrarium that sat beneath the window, then looked down at the writhing mass of baby snakes she'd found on her job. She'd missed Cobra's birthday because of the emergency job she'd had to take with the team. This was her way of making it up to him. Snake babies.

The snoring stopped when she picked up the first little black snake. Lucy turned toward the bed with a gentle smile, watching as Cobra rolled so his head hung off one side of the bed.

Maybe it would be better to wake him up.

She put the bin on the bed beside the pillows, and went to the bathroom to get a glass of water. Once she was back in the room, and had set the glass on the floor, Lucy crawled onto the bed and laid herself down beside Cobra. One hand slid over his back, her fingers rising and dipping along with his whip-scars, and she whispered his name. He didn't wake up.

"Erik, wake up," Lucy said. She started massaging the space between his shoulders, his neck, up into his hair. Behind his ears. "Come on, sweetheart. Time to wake up."

"No," he mumbled.

"I brought you a present."

"Don' fuggin… care."

"Fine," she giggled. "I guess I'll name them myself."

He breathed deeply and turned his head toward her, smacking his lips in the process. "Name wha'?"

"The noodle babies I got you."

Cobra frowned. His eye still didn't open. "Nood… huh?"

"Are you awake?" Her smile softened when he nodded. "I'll roll you over, okay?" Cobra nodded again. She already knew that trying to move him if he wasn't fully conscious was a sure-fire way to get a fist flying at her face before his eye opened. She was just happy that she had some pretty good anti-black eye reflexes. The best way to counteract his waking-punch tendency was to tell him what she was going to do before doing it.

Lucy sat up on her knees and rolled him onto his back. She reached over his bare stomach - she wasn't sure when his shirt had come off the night before while she was gone, but at least he was wearing boxers - and brought the bin next to her knees.

"Okay, time to name them," she said, carding her fingers through his hair once again. She picked up the first of five snakes and looked at its thin black body. "This is Doodle Noodle." She placed it on Cobra's stomach, smiling wider when it simply coiled around his belly button. Cobra hummed and turned his head a little more toward her hand while her nails raked over his scalp. "This is…" She picked up the next snake, nearly identical to the first except for a few white scales around its snout. "Rainbow Noodle." Lucy placed it on Cobra's chest.

He hummed again. "Doodle… Rainbow…"

She pulled out the third snake, with a long white stripe running down only one side, and set it on his stomach. "This is… Speedington Noodle."

"Mm… Doodle, Rainbow, Speedingt…"

Lucy giggled and shook her head, then pulled out the last two snakes. One had milky eyes, and the other was more grey than black. She put the milky-eyed snake near his cheek on the bed. "Here's Scout Noodle." The grey one slithered down her hand to rest in Cobra's armpit. "And Creeper Noodle."

"Mmkay," he mumbled. "Sleep now."

"But you'll squish our babies," she said.

"Squish what?"

"Open your eye."

He sighed and finally forced his eye to open. It took a minute for him to realize there was something on top of him. Several somethings, actually. Cobra frowned and blinked repeatedly before he found the ability to look down at the slight weight on his throat. A small, blind snake's head sat perched above his chin. Its tongue flicked out several times to test the air.

"The hell…"

"That's Scout Noodle," she said. Lucy picked up Rainbow Noodle before it could fall off Cobra's chest and placed the little snake back with its siblings. "I found them on my way home, and I figured…"

He knew what she meant, even without hearing her soul. He'd been devastated when his last snake, Gambit, had contracted IBD from fuck only knew where. That precious little python had stopped eating, and he couldn't figure out what had happened. Not until it was too late, at least. Cobra hadn't known what it was, but he'd taken Gambit to the vet, only to find out the little guy had some incurable disease that could have been passed down to him from before he'd even hatched, or from some weird mites, or a number of other places.

Lucy had been the one to convince him that putting Gambit down was the humane thing to do. He was going to die anyway, and forcing him to live when they would have to force-feed him just to prolong his life a few more months, was going to hurt them all. Gambit would have suffered. Cobra would have gotten more attached, and been more devastated when Gambit was eventually past caring for.

They'd gotten rid of the old terrarium after Gambit was gone, and bleached the whole house just to be safe. Cobra had bought a new terrarium though, because he did want to get another snake. Eventually.

"You found…"

"Five little noodle babies," she said with a gentle smile. She remembered all too well how Cobra had cried once they were home after putting Gambit down. She didn't want that to happen again. "I took them to the vet before coming home. Clean bills of health all around."

"Five…"

"Baby noodles."

"Black racers?"

She shrugged. "I think? The paperwork's in the kitchen. Aside from Scout Noodle being blind and Creeper Noodle having a sort of albino thing going on, they're normal. Well, normal for snakes."

"Blind?" Fuck, his brain was _not_ working with him right then. And his head was starting to hurt.

Lucy held up Scout Noodle again. "Blind," she said. "I thought you might want to put them in their new home. I still don't know how it all works."

Cobra sighed while closing his eye again. He let himself relax with the feeling of those small, scaly bodies wriggling on his bare flesh, and a small smile lifted his lips. "In a minute."

"Ah," Lucy said with a nod, "It's noodle bonding time."

"Why the fuck are you calling them noodles?"

"You talk in your sleep," she said. It was a lie, and they both knew it. She just really thought calling snakes _noodles_ was precious. "I just assumed it was the appropriate vernacular for snakes."

"You're an asshole."

She smirked and carefully laid down beside him again, making sure all five of their new children were either on him or next to him (and not _under_ her). "You don't remember what you did… do you."

"No," he sighed. "Aside from drinking nail polish... I feel like I missed something."

"I'm gonna guess… constant masturbation."

"I fucking hate you."

"Lies," she laughed, biting her lips when he winced. "Too loud?"

"Very…" Cobra's eye clenched and he turned his head toward her. "Do me a favor…" His eye barely opened again to find her smiling down at him, just like she always did. "I'm calling in one of my bitch days."

"You want me to take care of you today?"

He nodded slowly. He only had four bitch days in a year when he could just be lazy and not do a damn thing, and Lucy would take care of him; Lucy had the same, where all she usually wanted was to get pampered by him with no complaints. Of course, they'd both decided that injuries from missions didn't count toward bitch days. Thank god for that. "Please?"

Lucy leaned down at pressed her lips to his forehead. "You got it. You stay here with the babies, and I'll get you some crackers for breakfast."

"You're the best." His lips pursed when she pulled away. "Hey…"

"Yes?"

"You didn't say it…" Was he whining? Yes. Definitely, yes.

She rolled her eyes and pressed her lips to his forehead again. "I love you, Mister Grump."

Cobra gave her a sleepy smile when their noses brushed together. He loved that she was perfectly fine telling him how she felt about him, and never expected him to reciprocate. And that Lucy didn't need to know the reason why. She'd just accepted that as a fact about him, and that was that. He'd probably only said that he loved her a total of three times in the past eight years of their marriage. But she told him every morning and night, sometimes even when she was just getting up from the couch to get a bag of chips. Somehow, she knew that he really needed to know that, to hear it, even if he wouldn't admit it. What mattered most was that she never forgot how much he loved her, regardless of how seldom he said the words.

"How much?" That didn't mean Cobra was above making Lucy tell him how much she loved him. Especially because she was adorably sappy on occasion, and he really didn't mind it all that much when it was coming from her.

"I super duper ooper schmooper love you, Noodle Canoodler." He hummed while closing the distance between them, and Lucy's nose wrinkled when they pulled apart and his dry lips stuck to hers. She'd always hated that about morning kisses.

"Mmkay, go now, minion," he yawned.

Lucy shook her head and moved to sit up, then frowned down at her chest. "Erik?"

"Mm?"

"Creeper Noodle is creeping on my tits."

Cobra's eye opened to a slit, and he snorted at the sight of the little grey snake nestled between Lucy's boobs, with its head peeking out from her cleavage. "You're the one who doesn't want human babies."

"You don't either."

"True. So let Creeper Noodle go all Oedipus on you. Little dudeling's living up to his name." Lucy let out a quiet laugh and counted four snakes writhing on Cobra's stomach. She slowly sat up and made her way to the kitchen, ignoring the small snake nestled between her breasts. Cobra waved her away and smiled to himself. He picked up a random snake - Doodle Noodle, maybe? - and said, "I married a fucking keeper."

 _ **.The End.**_

* * *

 **I think there's a headcanon in here from either** _ **Dragon'shost**_ **or** _ **papalogia**_ **. Cobra getting drunk on nail polish. It's been so long, I can't remember whose it was. Credit where it's due, even if I can't remember who to credit it to lol.**


	7. This chapter's also been moved

**I'd like to apologize to my readers.**

 _ **This story has been moved to a separate entry on FFnet.**_

You can find this entry under the story _I'm in Love With a Lunatic._

Although links don't work on this godforsaken site, here's the URL if you want to go that route instead. Just remove the spaces that are placed after the dots and slashes. Oh my god, I hate how the formatting is on this site.

fanfiction: s/ 12555031/1 /I-m-in-Love-With-a-Lunatic

(The link will take you to chapter 1, and is posted as such for those readers who haven't read the story yet. If you're caught up from last CoLu Week, then just click on down to the newest chapter.)

Sorry for the inconvenience. I just really want to make it easier for those of you who end up re-reading these stories, that way you're not forced to click all over the place just to read one story.


	8. Day 7 - Frost Prince

**A/N: Alright, so you can thank me reading Chaucer for school for what you're about to read. Sort of. While discussing "The Miller's Tale" in** _ **The Canterbury Tales**_ **, this idea came to me, and I had to plot it out instead of being a good student and paying attention to the lecture - then again, I'd already read it for another class and listened to a lecture on it, so I'm alright. Also, I passed that class with a 98%, so I'm good.**

 **This is most definitely an AU. Let's call it a Three-Kingdoms AU for ease of remembering what's what in the fandom. (This is not to be confused with the Chinese Three Kingdoms from history, or the Chinese novel…) There is some serious fucking around with things in this, so just… be ready for anything. Some characters are simply placed in spots (and not necessarily _in character_ ), because they are the only ones I could see _visually_ taking the spots they have in the story. Remember, I don't actually hate any characters. So... there's that.**

 **And because I've never done it, why not start off the story with a fairy tale sort of omniscient narrator opening? Trying new things is fun!**

 **So without further ado, I give you…**

* * *

 **Day 7: Frost**

 _ **The Frost Prince**_

* * *

Far beneath the lands laid a civilization with water for a sky. Hundreds of years ago, the people created tunnels using magic that they could walk through without being drenched, and eventually there came a time where they thrived beneath the ocean. This wasn't a case of them being merpeople, or even that they lived among the fish and sharks and sea life. There was the ground, where common humans lived, then water, then a cavernous space beneath it where the highest members of society lived. The mages.

The only nobles exempt from this underwater eden were the kings and their families from the three kingdoms who ruled over the magic-less citizens above ground.

Every generation, women were chosen from the nobles beneath the sea to travel to the surface and meet with the princes who had come of age for marriage. They were to be beautiful, intelligent, diplomatic, and demure. They had to prove themselves amenable to not only the young prince they were to wed, but also to the current king. However, only one woman would surface at a time for the princes to choose from. Once she was chosen by a prince to be their bride, the next would come and visit the two remaining kingdoms in need of a future queen. The final woman would arrive in the last kingdom and instantly be married, as long as she met with the king's requirements.

Every generation, the three kings met in Council to discuss when they would send for the first woman, when their sons had all aged to maturity. No one knew why only males were born from the magic-wielding noblewomen of the Waters coupling with a ruler of the three kingdoms.

The year was 791, and the first of the young women had been chosen to meet with the era's three princes.

She was young and willful, but her eyes held the souls of the stars themselves. Her father was sure that she would disgrace them all and be sent back home - there was always the chance that all three princes would find a woman unsuitable, and she would be banished to the Far Lands - but the ruling of the noble lords in great majority had made his voice silent.

Jude Heartfilia was absent from the ceremony that had his only daughter stepping onto the dais before the entire underwater gathering. He refused to witness how she smiled at everyone, how unaware she was of the reason she'd been chosen that year.

There was only so much disregard of the rules they could handle, and that meant that his dearest Lucy was to be sent above ground. The noble lords knew they could be rid of her one way or another, through marriage or banishment.

And so, Jude didn't see his daughter whisked away from the Waters. He was unaware that she searched for him in the crowd, desperate to see him one last time before she went on this journey. He didn't know that she wished to tell him she loved him, or that she was determined to prove that she could follow the rules. He was unaware of the tears dotting her lashes when she was sent to the surface, knowing he hadn't been there to see her leave.

No one knew that she had never wanted to be a queen.

* * *

Lucy found the Earth Kingdom to be odd, but she loved seeing the looming forests and reaching out of the carriage windows to brush her fingers across the bark and leaves they passed on the way to the palace. The gentle trills of birds in the heavy boughs was soothing over the quiet comments from her handmaiden, Virgo, about keeping herself clean. She was supposed to impress this prince that she was meeting.

There was no way to stop herself from sticking the top half of her body out the window when the driver called out that they were nearing the palace. They broke through the treeline and her soulful honey eyes went wide at the brilliant expanse of stark marble towers leading toward the drawbridge they were about to cross. Guards in all black walked carefully along the tops of the bordering wall between towers. Once past the outer wall, her head tipped back further and further while following the cool expanse of marble that composed the castle proper. It was enormous. And very intimidating. She'd never seen something so huge. And so white. But Lucy had been diligent in her studies about the Kingdoms. She'd always known there was a possibility that she would be chosen, and the last thing she'd wanted was to look like a moron.

The carriage came to a stop and Virgo pulled her back inside so the driver could open the door. The procession just to get out of the carriage was ridiculous though. All the waiting and the trumpets blaring just for her arrival. Finally, she left the carriage and used all the grace she could muster while wearing too many layers of billowing skirts while walking toward the two figures at the end of a long crimson carpet. Both were dressed similarly in fine black and forest green brocade doublets and black breeches. The taller of the two wore an intricate silver medallion with a large jade stone in the center, denoting his status as the king. They were poised, their pointed chins held high and only their eyes moving as they followed her steps closer to them.

Once before them, she curtseyed and then stood and looked at the man who could potentially be her husband. "Lady Lucy Heartfilia, I would like to introduce you to Earth King Skiadrum Cheney, and his son, Prince Ryos Cheney," the nearby squire said.

The prince was handsome, not that she should have been surprised, with skin as pale as the palace in which he lived. Midnight hair hung to his shoulders, and her heart pounded when his deep crimson eyes locked with hers.

"It's a pleasure." Ryos gently took her hand and bent at the waist to kiss her knuckles. "Please allow me to welcome you to the Earth Kingdom."

"Thank you, your majesty," she said. "I'm honored to make your acquaintance." She turned toward the king and curtseyed again. "King Skiadrum, thank you for your hospitality. I hope the day that follows will be amenable for all involved."

His thin, pale lips lifted in the barest of smiles. The shift was so minute that Lucy wasn't sure if she'd actually seen it happen. But those red eyes seemed to run in the family. King Skiadrum's were more vibrant than Ryos' but colder somehow as they sat between his heavy black brows and sharp, high cheekbones. "I welcome you to my kingdom," the king said. Lucy tried not to shiver when she heard his chilling voice. "Come this way, and we can sit down for tea. You do like tea, don't you?"

"Of course, your majesty," she said, smiling a little more easily. He merely blinked at her, and her smile faltered. Had she already done something wrong? Well, either way, she was just glad that she would only be in this palace for a day and night. She was due to leave the next day after first meal to continue on to the Fire Kingdom.

The king turned and his black cape billowed in the wind as he ascended the stairs back to the palace. Ryos came to stand beside her and offered his arm. Lucy gladly took it and they started walking. When she glanced toward him, he wasn't looking her way. His fingers were cold where they touched her slender wrist.

She had a feeling this was the absolute wrong kingdom for someone like Prince Ryos, based on first impressions.

* * *

She realized her mistake after they'd had tea. Instead of greeting the king first, Lucy had set her attention on Prince Ryos. She'd been disrespectful and it showed in the cold treatment she received during the tea service. Unless both the king and prince were always so monotone and tight-lipped. She wasn't exactly a chatterer, but Lucy did enjoy a good conversation. She just wasn't sure if she was actually allowed to speak first in this situation. Had it just been herself and Prince Ryos, she probably could have gotten away with it, but with the king there, watching her every move, she was at a loss for what to do.

"So, Lady Lucy," King Skiadrum said, drawing her attention to the head of the long, elegant dining table in an instant, "What is your impression of my kingdom so far?"

Even with a corset keeping her posture perfect and rigid, she still straightened just a little under his critical gaze. She dabbed at her lips with a napkin and delicately set it on her lap. "Well, your majesty, I think it's breathtaking."

Breathtaking. She sounded like a moron.

"How so?"

Her cheeks flushed slightly with embarrassment. "I've never seen trees outside of books. My father insisted that I attend to my studies instead of visiting the orchards that have been manufactured in the Waters."

A moron who had never seen something like a tree before. So a hermit _and_ a moron. Even better. This was just going swimmingly. Maybe she could find a pool to drown herself in while no one was looking. Or she could summon Aquarius to do the job for her by sticking her golden key into a puddle of urine. That was a sure way to get annihilated.

"A wise decision," Prince Ryos said. "There really is no point in having a bride if she isn't also intelligent."

"Indeed," said the king. Conversation dwindled for several minutes, and Lucy wondered if she was the only one feeling the strain in the air. Did they not realize that she was there and willing to talk? Did they just expect her to be silent? Nothing more than decoration like the tapestries hanging on the walls and the expensive vases holding stone-crafted flowers?

Tea was finally finished, and Prince Ryos stood and pulled out her chair to help her stand as well. Not that she needed help, but it was nice, she supposed. She curtseyed to the king once more and quietly thanked him for his time before they left the tea room with Virgo silently following several paces behind them.

They roamed the halls of the castle at a meandering pace. Prince Ryos took her from room to room and gave her a proper tour. He showed her their collection of instruments from across the kingdom, but he didn't play any of them; they were just for collecting, of course. The hunting room with walls covered in taxidermied heads of bucks and bears and quite a few beasts she'd never seen before; Prince Ryos didn't hunt, though, that was his father's pastime.

She met several of the staff, including a librarian named Freed with long mint-green hair that hung to his hips and cold turquoise eyes.

That was where they finally stopped, at a long claw-footed couch with soft green cushions nestled in an alcove between the shelves of perfectly dusted tomes. Freed was still able to see them, if he looked up from the large book he'd been deciphering. Virgo stayed within earshot of their conversation at all times, though she just appeared to be reading the spines of every book on the shelves.

"I hope it isn't improper of me to want some time away from prying eyes," Prince Ryos said.

"That's more than fine." Lucy smiled at him then, hoping with everything she was worth that he would relax just a little around her. She wanted to see who the prince really was, and not the role he played in public. What if there was something about him, deep down, that she didn't like, that only came out behind closed doors? Would she have to stay married to him, if that was the case?

His lips tightened for a moment as he scrutinized her, then he let out a slow breath. "As I'm sure you're aware, each monarchy has a particular magic that they pass down."

"Yes," she said. "The books we have don't say what it is."

"Would you like to see?" He didn't wait for a response and instead lifted his hand in the large space between them, almost as though he was beckoning her closer. Smoky black tendrils of magic wisped from his fingertips and coiled in the air until they formed a tight, condensed ball of darkness. "Shadows are mine to manipulate. My father is the same. The Cheney line has only ever produced heirs who can control shadows, and each generation strengthens what was received from the last."

"That's so-"

"Wonderful." He deconstructed the shadow ball with a twitch of his fingers and reached forward to lift a lock of Lucy's golden hair, then tucked it behind her ear. "I know."

She smiled at him. It was what she was supposed to do, that much she was aware of. Except the conversation simply continued on that same vein. The prince's accomplishments, his accolades, the things he enjoyed doing. A history lesson about the kingdom with facts and statistics and numbers. Her only reprieve from his monotony came in the form of a little green kitten who swept beneath her skirts and twisted and turned around her ankles.

"Ah, this is Frosch. It's a bit of a trickster, but it has a heart of gold."

"Is Frosch a boy or a girl?"

"That's not important. It's a cat."

Lucy knew she was staring - still smiling, but staring - and she really didn't care. She could be polite, but that was just ridiculous. Who didn't care whether their pet was a boy or a girl? Maybe she was being too hard on him though. So, Lucy resolved to give Prince Ryos a fair shot. This was definitely awkward, meeting one another like this, with both of them knowing that he would either like her enough to want to make her his wife who would bear however many children he decided was an appropriate number, or decide he'd rather wait and see who the next marriage candidate would be.

"What are your measurements?"

"... Excuse me?"

"Your measurements," he said. "My father says that certain ratios in measurements are superior for childbearing. Based on the literature I've read, I have to agree. With women's fashion creating preferred figures using corsets, it's difficult to tell whether a woman actually has a superior ratio. So, what are your natural measurements, without clothing?"

Okay, so maybe giving him the benefit of the doubt was going to be harder than she'd thought.

* * *

When she reached the Fire Kingdom's volcanic palace, Lucy wondered if she should have asked to stay a little longer in the previous kingdom. Aside from the scorching heat of the kingdom, the palace looked as though it was grown from a volcano with mixtures of ash-grey stone and lava-like windows. It made her wonder if there really was a volcano lurking just beneath the ground that would erupt at any minute.

Prince Ryos was a perfect gentleman the entire time she'd been with him though. He engaged her in simple conversation, asked what she knew about his kingdom, and she could tell that he was intelligent. He was too proper though, too _by the book_ for her, and just a little too direct in some cases. Lucy wanted some excitement if she was going to marry someone. At least his magic had been beautiful. She'd enjoyed watching how he manipulated shadows. And she'd really enjoyed playing with his precious little green kitten, Frosch. Sadly, he hadn't asked if she had any magic of her own.

But her own opinions really didn't matter. It was up to the kings and princes to decide whether any of them wanted her. She was just some prize to be won.

"You look flushed," Virgo said, leaning forward in the carriage and fanning Lucy's face. "Do you need some water?"

"This dress is too hot for being here," she sighed. "I'll be fine."

Moments later, the carriage stopped. Unlike the formal reception she'd received in the Earth Kingdom, Lucy was more than surprised to hear boisterous laughter coming from just beside the door before it flew open. The lightly tanned, grinning face of a handsome man gazed up at her. His smile was so vibrant, so alluring, that it made her want to join right in. His bright green eyes drew her in and held her captive with their childish glee. "Hey, I'm Natsu," he said, reaching in to help her step down from the carriage. "Son of the great Fire Dragon!"

"That would be Prince Natsu Dragneel," Virgo whispered. "His father is the Fire King Igneel Dragneel."

Lucy squeaked in alarm when her shoes barely touched the ground before Natsu pulled her into a warm hug - in more ways than one. It was full of emotion, so friendly and loving. But his body was also warm. Extremely warm. Almost as though that volcano she'd been concerned laid under the palace was actually fueling the exorbitant amounts of energy he had as he spun in a circle.

"Natsu, put her down!" Igneel laughed.

She was set on her feet again, and Lucy peeked through the spiky pink locks of the man holding her - wait, was Natsu's hair really _pink_?! - to find the king standing a few feet away. He was tall and lean with a healthy glow to his skin and a wide smile that she just knew he'd passed down to his son. His golden eyes were so joyful as he gazed at the two of them. The last thing she'd been expecting was to find the king wearing sandals, white loose-fitting capris with little golden ties at the knees, and a red waistcoat trimmed in gold that was opened to reveal his bare chest. His golden necklace glinted in the late afternoon light. King Igneel's hair was a rich wine color, and his eyes seemed to glow orange if the light hit them just right.

Finally, Lucy pulled back from the hug to look properly at the prince. He was taller than her, not that it was much of an accomplishment with her small stature, but he wasn't domineering. The longer she looked into his eyes, the more she felt at ease in his presence. Still, she had a job to do, responsibilities that she was expected to perform to the letter. She began her curtsy and introduction, only to be stopped by Natsu with another bone-crushing hug. "Your highness!" she sputtered.

"This is gonna be a blast, Luce!"

"M-My name is Lucy-"

"Sure, but I can call ya Luce, right?" He smiled again and turned so he could wrap an arm around her corseted waist and lead her toward the king. "And you look really uncomfortable. Dad, we've got something else she can wear, right? She might burn up in this."

"No kidding," Igneel chuckled. He gazed down at her with a kind smile that reminded her of her late mother. "I hope you have a good time, Lucy. And maybe you'll be the one for my son here." Her cheeks flushed a deeper crimson and her eyes lowered to the ground. "But enough about that!" Igneel clapped his hands and waved toward the palace. "This is your home for the next day. Let's get to the tour."

"And food," Natsu added.

"And changing," Igneel said. The king and prince blew twin fiery breaths at the molten glass doors, melting them away as though they'd been nothing more than ice. Lucy cast a worried glance back at Virgo. At least she knew what sort of magic they both used.

"And maybe some dessert," Natsu said.

"Definitely dessert."

"..." Natsu grinned at his father over Lucy's head.

"Chocolate Volcano cake!" the men shouted in unison, throwing their fists into the air. Lucy smiled to herself as they brought her inside. It was definitely different from the Earth Kingdom. In more ways than one. But she hadn't a clue what she would make of the rest of her stay there. At least Prince Natsu and his father seemed like much more open people. Happier. She rather liked that about them already.

* * *

She found herself laughing at the mess Prince Natsu made while he ate. It was actually a little on the disgusting side to see someone eating so messily, but it definitely made her feel just a little more removed from the smothering atmosphere of the Earth Kingdom.

"So, I heard you went to see Stuffy Skiadrum," the king said.

"The Earth Kingdom was my first stop, yes," she said carefully. The last thing she wanted was to get caught in some sort of trap that had her blatantly slandering a monarch. Her execution would be all but guaranteed.

"This place is loads better," Prince Natsu laughed. "That castle is boring!"

"I rather liked the library," she said.

"Library?" Prince Natsu snorted and rolled his eyes. "I'll take a solid adventure through the hotbeds over a dusty room filled with books any day."

Lucy fought back a frown at that, but luckily the king came to the rescue with a swift smack to the back of his son's head with a turkey leg. "How many times have I told you, there's no reason to avoid _our_ library. Everything's warded against our magic, so you can't set it on fire like you do everywhere else."

"Oh, you set books on fire?" Lucy asked.

"Yeah," the prince said. He seemed a bit sheepish while admitting it though. "Downside of using Fire magic. Flammable stuff just really likes to burn up in your hands."

"I would imagine reading an unwarded book would be a difficult endeavor then."

Prince Natsu blinked slowly, leaving Lucy questioning whether or not she'd said something offensive. The king rolled his eyes. "It's hard to read when you set everything on fire."

"Oh," he laughed. "Yeah, pretty much."

"Boy, you need to read more." The king grinned at Lucy. "I need him to marry one hell of a smart cookie, you see. The last thing I need is for something to get messed up because my son is much better with common sense than reading."

"Well, I do like to read," she said. "That's really all I was allowed to do."

"You're pretty smart for a girl," Prince Natsu said, grinning widely as he gazed at her across the large round table piled high with food.

She really wanted to ask just what he meant by that, but Lucy decided against it. It would be better to just let things happen as they came, and to disregard the vast majority of what came out of the prince's mouth.

"Man, Luce, you can sure put away some food!"

Like that. Maybe he just wasn't aware of how rude it was to comment on a woman's eating habits. Maybe no one had told him there was a difference between appropriate and inappropriate statements, because he was the prince. She would have thought the king would teach his son at least a little about being around a woman. Or maybe even the queen, wherever she was right then, but that was probably just wishful thinking on her part.

"Man it'll be so nice to have another woman around. Mom's so busy being pregnant-"

She tuned him right out at that point. There was no way Lucy was going to get through this visit with her sanity intact. No way at all.

* * *

"That was… an experience," Virgo said softly as she wrapped a bandage around Lucy's hand to cover the small burn she'd gotten from Natsu just before leaving the palace. Everyone knew he hadn't meant to do it, and she already knew that Lucy didn't blame him for the small burst of magic he'd let off. She'd seen the way Lucy melted just a little when his hand flew up to scratch the back of his head while apologizing to her.

"There's really a volcano under that place," Lucy muttered. Natsu had taken her there in the middle of the night. He'd snuck into her room, into her very _bed_ and shook her awake just to force her to follow him. She'd liked that he was so giddy to show her what his home had to offer, and that he was so adventurous, but she wanted to make a good impression for the sake of her father.

"What did you think of Prince Natsu?"

"I don't know," she sighed, staring out the window. The land was mostly desert where they were at. Further from the palace, between there and the Earth Kingdom, everything was so lush and green. As they continued down the road toward the Frost Kingdom, it was barren. Empty. Soulless.

"He seemed nicer than Prince Ryos."

"Yeah," she said. "I don't know, Virgo. He's just… not all that…"

"Attractive?"

"No, he's attractive." Both of the princes she'd met were attractive. She could see why any woman would be more than ready to tear their skirts off and climb the royals like a tree.

"Brave?"

"No, I'm going to assume that living over a volcano will make anyone brave." She closed the curtain over the window and leaned back in her seat. "He's just… not very smart, I guess."

"Prince Ryos is intelligent."

"Yeah, but…"

"And you did say he was the perfect prince."

"He's what the books say a prince should be," she sighed. Prince Ryos and Prince Natsu were just so different. Ryos really was everything that a prince should be, and Natsu was too just... not in the same ways. "But Prince Ryos is just… boring."

"I understand," Virgo said, gently patting Lucy's knee. When she saw the blonde wince, she raised a curious brow and pushed her skirts up to reveal both of her knees had been scraped at some point. "What did you two get into?"

"You don't even wanna know." She wasn't going to mention the fact that her nightclothes had been scorched and had to be replaced in secret the night before. Or that she'd tripped over a piece of rock jutting out of the outer wall Natsu had taken her over. Or how they'd been scaling what she called a mountain (which was really nothing more than a very large hill, apparently) and she'd tumbled down it twice before Natsu helped her. Lucy had needed to bathe once she'd returned to her room just so that no one would be any the wiser over what she and the prince had been up to.

She had to admit, even if it was only to herself, he had been rather fun to spend time with. If she'd had a brother, Lucy could see herself getting into some of the shenanigans the prince had dragged her into the night before.

Great, he was more like a brother than a suitor. That just made her want to marry him even less.

* * *

The most nerve-wracking thing about this journey was wondering what each prince would be like as she made her way closer to their kingdoms. There had been no telling with Prince Ryos. She'd known nothing of him aside from the policies that he'd been helping his father create since he was a child. There had been no stops between her entry point from the Waters and his castle, so she hadn't even been able to interact with the people in his kingdom. However, King Skiadrum and Prince Ryos had both been curious to know which kingdom was her next stop. When Virgo had supplied that it was the Fire Kingdom, they'd both chuckled quietly. There hadn't been a peep about what King Igneel and Prince Natsu would be like aside from comments that they were very different.

She completely understood the chuckling and the vague description. She was having a hard time describing them herself, and she'd just been there.

The Frost Kingdom, on the other hand, was something that terrified her. When she'd asked about the final stop in her first two kingdoms, they really hadn't given her anything to look forward to.

" _The prince is a lot of fun to mess around with at the Council meetings," Natsu said. "He gets mad so easily. He poisoned me once."_

She was concerned that Prince Natsu had been smiling even when talking about being poisoned. And she wondered just what the Frost Prince had poisoned him with, and when.

" _The Frost Prince?" Ryos asked. "He's a lunatic and a hermit. Be wary of him."_

" _The Frost King never leaves his kingdom unless it's for Council, and if you are sent there to marry…_ _ **that**_ _prince… then no one may ever see you again, Lady Lucy," Skiadrum said._

Igneel's reaction to where she was going was the worst. He'd just laughed and laughed. That was much more unnerving than anything else she'd heard up until that point. He'd laughed so hard that he'd started crying. Definitely unnerving.

It was made even worse when they arrived in a town just on the outer edge of the Frost Kingdom with a sign that cautioned travellers to pack for "deep chills." Lucy wasn't sure what that meant, but the carriage driver stopped at an inn and said that was as far as he could take her. His horses weren't meant for weathering the ever-present winter winds of this kingdom, and this town was the last one with only a brisk breeze. It would be much worse the further north they went.

Lodgings were arranged for Lucy and Virgo for two nights, just enough time for them to gather the supplies they would need to make the rest of their journey through the frozen tundra ahead. She needed to have winter clothes made - considering she'd only come with a few dresses that were more appropriate for moderate temperatures like in the Earth Kingdom. They needed a way to travel there in the first place. Luckily, someone was already expecting them, and Lucy was taken to a seamstress right away.

"Such a beautiful girl," the older woman sighed while kneeling and taking her measurements. "Shame you'll be dead soon."

"Excuse me?"

"That prince up there in the Tower. He has quite the reputation. I've never seen him myself, but they say one look will scare ten years off your life."

Lucy gulped and stayed silent through the process of being measured for her new dresses and nightclothes. Once she was done, she thanked the seamstress and walked out with Virgo on her arm. But all around town, no matter where they went, she heard the whispers of the townsfolk. How they talked about her, and about the prince and king she would be meeting.

The king was kind and benevolent, and cared deeply for his people. He was hardly ever seen, but that was mostly because it was difficult to travel in the snow. He only moved about the kingdom when it was necessary, for holidays and things like that.

But the prince…

 _A monster. A heathen. Not the rightful heir and he knows it. He'll torture a man for looking at him the wrong way. He steals children from their beds and eats their eyes. Deformed. Disgusting. Vile. Terrifying._

The general consensus was that he was evil. And apparently a psychopath.

The cobbler making her a pair of sturdy, fur-lined winter boots told Lucy about how he'd actually witnessed the prince hold a torture session of prisoners in the capital's square before having them all executed through impalement. He said the bodies were set up around the Tower as a way to warn people of the future king's insanity.

The baker who sold Virgo two small loaves of bread and some pastries for their lunch on the second day, said the prince was a demon who had taken over the body of a baby - the king's son - and corrupted him. You could see the mark of the demon on his body if you got close enough. He said that anyone who tried was killed a week later.

Lucy hated the pitying looks people gave her as they disembarked on a new carriage that was built to withstand the freezing temperatures further north into the country. What if they were all wrong about this prince? What if he was just subject to the rumors of people lower than him?

Then again, it was very possible that these people really did know their prince, and he really _was_ all those horrible things.

Maybe she really was going to die.

* * *

She was too scared to look out the window as they approached the Frost King's home. For three days, Lucy and Virgo had been travelling through the country. They'd gone through one gusty flurry after another, with snow falling so quickly that she couldn't see the land past the carriage window. She was immensely thankful for the fact that these carriages were warded against bandits. She'd been told just before leaving the Waters that she was _precious cargo_ , and even though she didn't agree with being treated like some crate full of doodads, she really didn't feel like being abducted.

The carriage stopped and Lucy took a slow, steadying breath. When she let it out, the door opened and the temperatures plummeted even further. Her breath misted in the air before her. There was no way she could live in a place like this. She'd yet to be able to stand beneath the sun. It had been far too hot to go outside during the day in the Fire Kingdom. Prince Ryos hadn't taken her outside while she visited with him in the Earth Kingdom, even though she'd been able to see through the occasional window that it was a beautiful day.

But in the Frost Kingdom, there was no sunlight shining down on her. Menacing silver and grey clouds shrouded the land that was already white and colorless.

"Time to go," Virgo said. "Wear your gloves."

Lucy nodded and pulled her gloves on, then the fur cloak she'd gotten, and carefully stepped out of the carriage onto the snow blanketing the ground. It crunched beneath her boots as she took a single step forward. But Lucy didn't hear it. Her focus was drawn skyward to the looming crystalline structure before her. She understood why the townsfolk never called it a palace or a castle. It was nothing more than a single tower that speared right into the heavens, far above the clouds. Large blue crystals jutted out at odd angles, in seemingly random places. Some looked too small to even hold a room in them, and were merely there for appearance. It was jagged and rough when taken in at a single glance.

It was terrifying.

What sort of monster would live in a place like this?

She followed the squire who appeared at beside the carriage, a tall man with an unnaturally angular face and long orange hair, as he led her to the doors. "Be careful, Lady Lucy," he said, gently placing one hand on her elbow and the other on Virgo's. "The stairs are made of ice."

"That doesn't sound very wise," she muttered under her breath. Why wasn't the prince there to greet her, as both Natsu and Ryos had been? Why wasn't the king there either? Both Igneel and Skiadrum had greeted her with their sons, right at the doors of their homes. Maybe they were waiting inside where there was no snow drifting sideways across their faces.

"We are very happy to have you here," said the squire. "Prince Erik is currently in a meeting, but I'm to take you there. He says he'll meet with you once he's finished."

Lucy nodded. What else was there for her to do, after all? She couldn't demand that a prince drop everything for her. Her only purpose was to be showed off like a piece of meat for the kings and their sons to argue over for marriage. A white-haired woman met them just inside and bowed before removing Lucy and Virgo's cloaks.

"Richard, he says it'll be a bit longer. Take her right there so she's not standing in the doorway, and he's not left waiting."

"Of course, Sorano." He turned to Lucy then. "Right this way, Lady Lucy."

"Does the prince usually handle meetings like this?" Virgo asked. Lucy was more than thankful that she had the pink-haired spirit with her. It wouldn't be proper to ask too many questions herself, but Virgo could do that for her.

"Not usually," Richard said. "Things have been very busy the last few days. Prince Erik has been handling things just fine though. He'll be a wonderful king."

Lucy really wasn't so sure about that. She couldn't stop thinking of the stories she'd heard of him. Some deformed monster of a prince who was tyrannical and gave children nightmares, who tortured men and women and children alike. A man who led mass slaughters of enemies who rose in secluded areas of his domain, all under the king's nose. He was rumored to be a conniving snake of a prince.

"We'll wait just inside here," Richard said as they came to a stop in front of the throne room. A pair of frosted glass doors stretched toward the high ceiling, obscuring the figures beyond. "He shouldn't be too much longer, but try to think happy thoughts." He paused and seemed to mull something over. "Lady Lucy, I hope you'll keep in mind that first impressions are… not always accurate."

Lucy frowned in confusion as his hand closed over the pitch black handle. He opened one door and led her into the throne room with Virgo not far behind. A plush royal purple carpet ran down the center of the vast room. On either side, the floor appeared to be made of black pebbles that had been iced over to make them smooth and glassy. Intricate crimson and purple tapestries hung on the walls and across the ceiling were gentle swathes of overlapping fabric.

"- Courts in Rodesta are asking for a ruling on their custody case of Dreyar v. Dreyar, because apparently-"

Lucy looked over to find a man with two-toned white and black hair reading from a long scroll. But just past him, sitting on the enormous onyx throne with a purple plush cushion beneath him was the silhouette of the man she assumed was the prince. She couldn't see his face from that distance, and she wasn't sure if she was happy that Richard silently led her closer. She was curious to see what this prince looked like, if he was really as scary as everyone had led her to believe. Then again, she also didn't feel like finding out that the stories were true.

"- Need to make arrangements to have frost flowers delivered, so you'll have to sign off on the requisition order from Vastia Sculptures-"

They stopped only a few feet behind the drawling, boring voice of the man who was reading, but Lucy didn't pay attention to him. Not when she was able to see the prince so clearly. His skin was darker than any she'd ever seen before, a rich caramel that nearly glowed in the odd ephemeral lighting from glowing red and pink crystals around the throne. His posture wasn't regal in the slightest. He slouched on the throne with one leg crossed over the other and his head resting on one hand.

A quiet hiss sounded through the room and rippled down her spine, and that was when she saw the giant purple serpent coiled around the base of Prince Erik's throne, with its head on an armrest. The prince's free hand gently ran over its scales. Was that his pet? It seemed all the princes had one, but both Natsu and Ryos had cats - Happy was a little hellion and she wasn't sure if the little blue cat actually liked her. Did Prince Erik really have a _snake_ , of all things? And one with such vibrant jade eyes…

His hand moved and lightly scratched beneath the snake's pale chin, and Lucy could swear it was over the moon about the sudden contact.

' _I wonder what scales feel like…'_

Her attention was drawn back to the prince when he shifted again, and she found only one indigo eye staring straight ahead. He didn't look at anyone. If anything he looked like this was killing his soul, and he was about to start making everyone feel his wrath. How could someone look both bored and furious at the same time? She did find the deep maroon of his hair to be a good complement to the rest of him though. It didn't clash with his skin or eye - wait, did he only have one eye? - and even though it was spiked away from his face and much longer than Natsu's had been, she rather liked it.

He definitely wasn't hideous.

"- We've received reports from several villages that Vulcans have been travelling down from their mountains and abducting women. This will need to be handled immediately since we all know what they actually _do_ to the women they take-"

Lucy had read up on Vulcans when she was still in the Waters and learning about the Frost Kingdom. She knew that it wasn't her place to say anything, so she simply kept her mouth shut. Even though she figured the easiest way to stop any Mountain Vulcans, which were usually all male, was to gather several females from another tribe and introduce them. They usually used humans as conduits for their Take-Over magic, but there were reports of other unsavory things happening to women they abducted. And if that was handled through females of their own species being available, then the only issue would be containing them to their mountain and ensuring that villagers didn't travel too close to the border.

But there was nothing she could say. As a woman, it wasn't her place. This wasn't even her kingdom, which meant she had to leave it in the prince's hands. Besides, she was really only a decoration anyway. It wasn't as though anyone expected her to have a brain or know how to use it for anything aside from being able to breathe and titter over moronic jokes. Regardless of what the other kings had said about wanting intelligent women to marry their sons, Lucy knew for a fact that they didn't really care about that.

She saw the moment Prince Erik looked at her, how his gaze snapped right to her face and intensified the longer he stared at her. His eye burned, nearly glowed, and his hand left the snake's chin to stop the drawling man from reading off of his scroll of kingdom issues.

It was silent in the throne room, completely still, yet all the prince did was gaze into her eyes as she defiantly gazed right back into his. Even when he slowly sat up and she was able to fully see the long scar bisecting his right eye, Lucy didn't shy away from his attention. Her father had the most intense glare in the Waters, and she'd never backed down from him. Except, she was usually getting in trouble over something when he looked at her like that, and she'd made sure to do nothing wrong while visiting the kingdoms.

She was surprised to see his thin lips quirk just a fraction at one corner. And when he spoke, Lucy really wasn't sure what she was supposed to do about the sudden fraying of her nerves from the depth of his gravelly voice.

"The easiest way to stop any Mountain Vulcans is to gather several female Vulcans from another tribe and introduce them," Prince Erik said, still watching Lucy. "They usually use humans as conduits for their Take-Over magic, but I already know about the reports of other unsavory things happening to women they abduct. And if that's handled through females of their own species being available, then the only issue would be containing them to their mountain and ensuring that villagers don't travel too close to the border."

She couldn't help herself. Her mouth dropped open as though she was trying to catch flies with it. Had he been reading her mind? That was exactly what she'd been thinking about the Vulcans. Maybe it had just been a coincidence though. Maybe he knew enough about the animals in his land to know that there were male tribes and female tribes. Maybe he was just intelligent enough to know how to handle things quickly and efficiently.

And he hadn't said a word about maiming or torturing anyone. Maybe that was just more garbage from the rumor mill.

He waved the other man away and slowly stood from the throne. Lucy didn't see Richard smirk and give the other man a wink. She was far too busy watching the prince come closer to her with his serpent by his side.

He was a lean man with dark red pants, a black shirt with a collar that barely stretched up to his throat, and a white, fur-lined coat. It suited him though, that much was obvious. Nothing about him seemed to be out of place, like with Prince Natsu and his pink hair, but he was much more relaxed in appearance than Prince Ryos.

"Lady Lucy," he said softly once he stopped before her.

He was so close though, much closer than was probably appropriate. If the keys tucked into her bodice hadn't heated up suddenly, she would have made a complete fool of herself. Instead she used the small space between them to lower her head respectfully and give him a proper curtsy. "I-It's an honor to meet you, your highness," she said.

"I'm sure it is."

Her eyes snapped up to find him staring at her. ' _What a jerk.'_ His head tilted just slightly, and her eyes were drawn to the elongated tip of his ear. Was that… She was sure it couldn't be real. Maybe he wore fake ears to keep up a façade of being some otherworldly monster. That was just silly though.

"Well, it's nice to see they picked the best in the bunch," he said. He didn't try to hide the way his gaze drifted over her body and lingered on her chest. "So much for getting a wife with a brain."

' _Okay, he's more than a jerk. What's worse than a jerk? A giant jerk! No, worse… An asshole. Ooh, that's it. He's a complete asshole. God, I hope he doesn't want to force me to marry him. I'll spend the rest of my life keeping my mouth shut with a jerk-faced asshole by my side. Just fabulous. At least the others didn't stare at my breasts!'_

He blinked and his head tilted to the other side. It seemed like he was listening to something, and if those ears of his were real, then maybe he actually was. She hadn't a clue, but between one moment and the next she found that Virgo and Richard had already left the room, and she was alone with the prince. He held out an arm and her hand naturally looped through it, and they walked toward the doors of the throne room with his snake slithering behind them.

That was a little creepy, but maybe… Maybe he would let her pet the snake. She'd never gotten to pet one before. She'd only ever seen them in books that were brought down from the surface to keep the nobles fully informed on what was happening in the lands of the kingdoms.

He stopped before they reached the doors and she looked up at him curiously. He didn't look back at her, but at the ground. At something in the distance that only he could see, most likely. "Cubellios." The snake slithered around and lifted its head until it was eye-level with him. "This is Lady Lucy." He looked at her at the same time as the snake did. "This is my friend, Cubellios."

Cubellios slithered closer and curved over her just slightly. Its tongue flicked out and feathered back and forth over her nose. Lucy giggled and rubbed away the tickling sensation. She bit her lip nervously and glanced at the prince to find him watching her. He didn't seem to be interested though, just observing everything with a critical eye. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Cubellios," she said to the snake. "May I…"

Her hand lifted slowly, and Cubellios' snout instantly dipped to press against her palm. If it wasn't for her gloves, she would have been able to feel the scales perfectly. Why hadn't she taken them off? This was her chance, and she was missing out on it because she'd forgotten to remove her stupid gloves.

"Cubellios doesn't like gloves," Prince Erik said. "Take those off."

Lucy squeaked and quickly did as he said, tucking them into a hidden pocket in her dress. She reached up once again and Cubellios moved so she could pet it. It was like nothing she'd ever felt before, smooth with gentle ridges between the scales, a little cool but not uncomfortable. It was mesmerizing as her hand slid up and over Cubellios' nostril holes, between its eyes, and to the back of its head.

"She doesn't normally let people touch her," Prince Erik said, watching as Lucy's hand pulled back.

"O-Oh…" She started at the sound of his quiet chuckle, and glanced toward him to find a sudden warmth glimmering in his deep lavender eye.

"If she didn't want you to do it, she would have bitten you. She says you're allowed to pet her whenever you wish."

"She… says?"

He nodded and placed her hand in his elbow again. "Let's go find something to eat," he said. "You can tell me a little more about where you come from."

She blinked in surprise at that. He wanted to know about the Waters? Why would he want something like that? It wasn't as though her home was all that important in comparison to his kingdom. But as they began walking, Lucy couldn't help but remember what Richard had said to her. Her mother had told her the same thing years ago. First impressions weren't always accurate.

* * *

It was so strange for Virgo to disappear for such a long time, but Lucy didn't mind it. She was probably just getting acquainted with the staff and figuring out where Lucy would be sleeping that night, getting things prepared. She was always so on top of things, that Lucy was sure she would be a wreck without her. But the sun was setting, based on the lights glowing from reddish-orange crystals set in braziers along the walls. It was extremely surprising that time had flown by so quickly. She'd been able to talk with Prince Erik for hours without feeling like she was rambling. He listened to her instead of brushing her off. He asked her questions about her life, what it had been like growing up beneath the waters of the realm.

And when she asked him things, he answered. And he did it honestly.

The most surprising thing about him, though, was that he had quite the foul mouth once he relaxed. He cursed constantly, and he didn't seem to care whether or not she found it offensive. If it had been any other noblewoman, there probably would have been hysterical gasping involved. Lucy really didn't mind it all that much. And when a curse slipped out of her - she really hadn't meant to call him a dick out loud - he'd just snorted over the way she blushed and tried to apologize.

Dinner was a cozy affair. Instead of the long, perfectly made table like in the Earth Kingdom, or the large round table stuffed with food in the Fire Kingdom, things were smaller. More intimate. She could tell the table was made for only two people to eat at where it was tucked away in a little alcove of the library. They were given plates of roasted duck and healthy portions of vegetables she'd never seen, with a basket of bread and a bottle of wine to share. She found out that if she wanted a second helping - which, she didn't because it was all so delicious and filling - all she needed to do was ask, and another plate would be brought out for her. Just like Erik had done for his own second helping. And then his third.

She hadn't had time to ask him about why they were eating in the library before he said that it had only been him and the king for years. By the look in his eye when he mentioned the king, she knew better than to ask his whereabouts. It was odd that he hadn't made an appearance to meet with her at all, but Lucy didn't want to question it.

She'd learned so much more about the Frost Kingdom during their meal. Even though Prince Erik and the king rarely left the Tower - mostly due to the weather - he knew everything about this frozen domain. He told her stories of the beautiful wintry forests and where to find wolves dens, when to stay away from them and when they would actually allow people close enough to meet their young. Stories about the quaint villages and the people living in them, of bakers and millers and smiths, and rumors that spread around town about who was sleeping with whom. She hadn't a clue how he could know any of those things when he never left.

It was while he was walking her toward her rooms for the night that he surprised her. Not once had he tried to touch her skin. He would only touch her sleeve-covered arms or the occasional hand on her back while he led her through the library.

He stopped and sent Cubellios away - Lucy had actually forgotten that it wasn't just the two of them - then gently grasped her hands while looking deeply into her wide eyes. He was silent though, simply watching her, and Lucy was sure that she should have been just a little unnerved by the way he watched things for so long.

She wasn't though. Everyone had their quirks. Maybe he was just a thinker that liked to have his words in order before saying something.

"Why aren't you afraid of me?"

"I'm sorry?"

"You've heard these stories about me. Not all of them are true, mind you, but some do have reasons for being told. But you're not… afraid."

Lucy gave him a small smile and his hands tightened around hers. She'd never expected a prince to have such calloused hands, for them to feel as though he'd been doing hard labor since he was just a child. Everyone's hands in the Waters were soft, overly moisturized. Hers were nearly the same except for the fingers on her right hand that grasped her keys while summoning her spirits.

"Why should I be afraid?" she asked. "You've given me no reason to feel that way, and… Well, I know how mean other people can be."

His eye narrowed slightly. "They didn't like you where you come from?"

She shook her head. "I'm not always a _proper lady_." Apparently sneaking up to the roof and trying to catch a fish that swam in the water above them, so she could see what the rest of the world was like, was a bad idea. "It gets me into a lot of trouble."

She was also, allegedly, not supposed to tell the neighbor's wife to stop sleeping around with half the block, and if she was going to continue doing so would she _please_ stop screeching like some drowning cat in the middle of the night. Or, maybe it had been alright to say that, just not in front of her husband.

"That's why they sent me first. If no one chooses to marry me, I'll return home and be banished to the Far Lands. If someone does choose me, then they never have to deal with me again."

"Wait, what?"

"My father thought I didn't know, but even he forgets that I listen to what people say. I'm not deaf… I know they don't like me."

"What did you say about being banished?" he asked. "Banished for what?"

"For not being a suitable queen."

"That's the dumbest fucking thing I've ever heard."

"Yeah," she laughed. "You don't have to tell me. Every woman down there is bred to be perfect. The perfect wife, perfect woman, perfect lover. But while we were supposed to be learning how to embroider and knit, I ran off and practiced my magic. We all have it down there, but the women aren't supposed to use it."

"You never showed it to me," he said. She rather liked the way his thumbs brushed over the backs of her hands. "Would you?" Her cheeks flushed while she reached into her bodice, tucking her fingers between her breasts, and pulled out a ring of keys. Prince Erik bit his lips to keep his amusement in check. "That's… a lot of keys in your tits."

"They're good for something then," she shot back without a thought. She really liked the sound of his quiet laugh as it drifted between them. "But you saw my magic earlier."

"I did?"

She nodded and singled out a key. "Virgo, my handmaiden, is one of the spirits I can summon. I summon her every morning, and keep her out throughout the day with me to work on my magic. She has days off though, and sometimes I can't always keep her out if my magic is too low, but… I try."

His gaze shifted to the side when she put the keys back where they'd been. Her hand slipped back into his as though it was the most natural place for it to be. "Is this something you really want?" he asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Do you want to be a queen? Do you want to marry some prince and leave your home and family behind?"

If Lucy was being honest with herself - which she usually was - then she didn't want to be a queen. It was something she'd never really wanted. She didn't care about the status of rulers or attaining it for herself. She didn't want to rule a country, or marry a man who thought she didn't have a brain. She didn't care about having money or some status to lord over people. Granted, she'd never lived without it, but there had been times where she dreamt of being a normal human with no magic, just to find out what it was like. Maybe it would make her appreciate the things she had more, or maybe she would finally find a place where she belonged. But Lucy knew that would never happen.

Her whole life had been beneath the rest of the world, cloistered away from every normal person on the land, surrounded by the vapid conversations of noblewomen. She didn't love her home though. It was just one more place where she'd never really fit in. On the land, she was an outsider, so new to everything she encountered. In the Waters, she was the weird girl who didn't know how to keep her mouth shut.

She just didn't understand why he would ask her something like that. Or why he would even care. This arrangement wasn't about her feelings, it was about finding wives for the three princes. Whoever they wanted to marry was theirs for the taking. And if she was chosen by one of them to be a future queen, then that was just her lot in life. It would be the only time she would lie down and not fight back. Because she wanted to prove to her father that she could do something right for a change.

If she was never going to see him again, then Lucy wanted it to be because she'd done something to make him proud. Not because she wasn't a suitable wife. All she had to do was be a proper woman, and everything would work out.

"I'd never force someone to marry me," he said. "Look at me. What kind of monster would subject a woman to living a life with this?" Lucy frowned up at him, only to find his gaze settled on their joined hands. Did he mean the scar on his face? His pointed ears? The color of his skin? The fact that he had a snake instead of a cat? She didn't really see anything wrong with any of those things. They worked for him. "My predecessor wanted me to marry according to the land's traditions. Choose a bride from the Waters and have an heir. He didn't have an heir, and people have talked about it ever since he took me in. He didn't want that for me…"

"You're not a blooded heir?" she asked. That would explain why people kept saying he wasn't really the heir to the throne.

"No," he chuckled. "The Frost King found me while he was travelling. I was out in the woods, no family and no home, starving to death and bleeding out from being mauled by a bear. And he brought me here. He saved my life and raised me to be the next king, because… He never found someone who would marry him. And if he had, he wouldn't have had any children."

"Why wouldn't he have chosen someone from the Waters?" she asked. God, how many women had been turned down by the king and banished because they hadn't met his standards?

"He chose not to partake in that tradition, and informed the nobles so they'd stop bothering him. He didn't want a wife."

"But to have an heir, at least," she said. She didn't exactly agree with marrying just for reproduction, but it was tradition. And if the Frost King had wanted an heir, all he'd needed to do was marry someone.

"No matter how much magic you have, two men can't have a child."

"O-Oh… Oh!" Lucy blinked repeatedly and found him simply watching her once again. "He's… I see. Well, that would make sense then."

His head tilted again. "You don't seem to mind," he said. "It wasn't exactly a good thing for him to be that way."

"Why not?" she asked, frowning. "Who someone loves isn't anyone else's business." Well that was how Lucy saw it, but she knew for a fact that the nobles she'd grown up with frowned upon those sorts of relationships. Lucy just didn't think it was anything to get all worked up over. As long as people were happy, then she didn't see a problem.

"Well, I'll probably be like him, in a sense. I doubt I'll find a woman to marry, or have an heir. I'll just have to hope I can find someone to take the throne when my time comes…" He tried to let her hands go, but she held fast. "Don't worry. It's something I accepted a long time ago. But there's something I've been thinking about since before you came here."

"And what's that?"

"If this isn't something you want, then you don't have to worry about me pursuing you. I don't rule like the others. My kingdom is so far removed from theirs that things are definitely different here. The only reason I agreed to this is because the king asked me to. Because he took care of me, I swore I'd take care of his kingdom when the time came."

"But I could get banished," she said.

"I'm sure the other two saw in you the same things I do," he said gently. "And if it comes down to it, and neither of those dumbasses can see what I do, then I'll take you in as a ward. I won't force you to marry me, but I won't let you be banished… if you'd allow me to."

"If _I'd_ allow you…" Her thin brows knit together when he took a step closer. She could smell the rich scent of cologne lingering on the fur of his jacket. "You're the weirdest prince I've met, you know that?"

"I know," he chuckled. "But keep that in mind, okay? I won't make you my bride, but if you have nowhere else to turn to… just ask, and you'll have a home here."

"Why would you do that for me?"

He lifted her hands to his lips and pressed a gentle kiss to her knuckles. "Because the only time someone's spoken to me without thinking about everything that's wrong with me, was when you said hello." He kissed her knuckles again then let go of her hands and took a small step back. "I hope you sleep well though. I'll… I'll see you in the morning for first meal."

She stood in the hall for several minutes after he turned and walked back the way they'd come. It wasn't until the white-haired woman she'd met that afternoon peeked her head out of the room Lucy was to sleep in that she came back to reality.

"Lady Lucy?"

"Hm?"

"Are you going to stand there all night?"

"... Maybe," she said, staring at her hands and where she'd felt his lips against her burning flesh.

"Is everything alright? Your handmaiden disappeared earlier. She said something about being needed elsewhere and then… poof. Gold sparkles everywhere."

"That's fine," Lucy said. She turned toward Sorano, unaware of the tears in her eyes.

"Oh, what did he say to you?" she asked, coming forward and drawing Lucy into a gentle hug. "You can tell me. It's alright."

"Wh-Why does he look so sad?"

Sorano stared in surprise at the top of Lucy's head as she cried. She led the blonde into the room and helped her get dressed for the night in a silk ruby nightgown, then brushed out her hair while Lucy tried to calm herself. Neither spoke a word. There wasn't anything that could be said. Eventually, she tucked Lucy in beneath the thick blankets and wished her a night of sweet dreams, then left.

"What was that all about?" came a soft, sneering, oh-so familiar voice. Sorano turned to look at Macbeth with a scowl. He pushed away from the wall across from Lucy's room, fiddling with his white and black hair.

"What?"

"Tucking her in like a child," he said. "She doesn't belong here, and you know it."

"Why, because she can see Erik for who he is?"

"No one sees that," he said. "He's only got us left now, Sorano. What do you think is going to happen when he turns her away?"

"He offered to let her come back."

"Just watch," he said, toying with a white braid and glancing at her out of one coal-lined eye. "She'll leave tomorrow and go to that stupid King's Council, and then he'll be forced to see her as the queen in some other kingdom. Because he's too hellbent on not taking things for himself."

"He won't force her to marry him," she said. "How is that a bad thing?"

"Because you know as well as I do that this was his only chance," he said. "He'll abstain from taking _any_ wife now that he knows what goes on with those nobles. And the people in this kingdom have a hard enough time accepting him as the damn prince. A second king with no heir? I doubt they'll want him to marry some commoner when he's not even a noble by birth himself."

"They were lucky that the king found a kid who could use magic…"

"There were only so many of us," Macbeth said. "The point is, she's his only shot. And he turned her away because he suddenly grew a heart."

"Or maybe it's because he heard her soul," Sorano said, turning away from him. "Macbeth, you know why he never leaves here. Why it's so far away from everything. And with the king-"

"Don't. I already know."

"Then stop being a jackass and do your job."

Lucy kept her ear pressed against the door and closed her eyes while listening to them walking in different directions down the hall. That hadn't made things any easier on her part. Maybe she should have just stayed in bed and pretended she couldn't hear them talking with the door still cracked open.

But she'd been curious about what they were saying. Was it about her, maybe more people who just didn't like her? Was it about the prince? Well, she'd figured it out pretty quickly, and it still left her with nothing to do but turn around and lie in the bed. This wasn't her decision to make. It was left to the remaining princes and kings to decide her fate.

A small part of her wished that Erik was like the others, selfish enough to take her for himself.

* * *

Thundering crashes woke Lucy from her already fitful sleep, and she sat up in her bed, gasping for breath and searching the darkness of her unfamiliar room for the foreign sound. She couldn't see a thing. She could only hear the rapid taps of something sharp against her window. Scrapes and howls that rung through the air just outside. She clutched at her blanket and tried to calm her breathing, but she hadn't a clue what was happening. Maybe it was just a nightmare, and she would wake up any moment to find the sun streaming in through her bedroom window. Maybe this was nothing to worry about at all.

The large window across the room shattered inward, bringing ice and snow and shards of glass barreling toward her with the screaming winds. Lucy shrieked in terror and vaulted from the bed. Thick blankets tangled between her legs and sent her crashing to the floor. A shard of glass cut into her arm while she tried to scramble free, but all she could hear was the wind and heavy, unknown thuds drawing closer to her.

Were there monsters she hadn't been told about? She didn't want to wait and find out for herself.

Tears broke past her lashes when she finally freed herself from the blankets and crawled across the room to the door, gaining scrapes along her knees and hands from the shattered window panes. The temperature dropped so quickly that she found herself fumbling with the handle, shivering and trembling as she was battered by bone-chilling winds. And all the while those heavy thuds came closer, grew louder. The wind outside screeched and wailed with something akin to fury.

The handle finally turned and she stumbled out into the dimly lit hall. Every second brazier held a glowing crystal and gave off just enough light for her to pick a direction and run. And she ran. She hadn't memorized the layout of the Tower - that would have been a ridiculous feat in less than a day - and even if she had, Lucy was in no shape to recall any of it. She turned down random corridors, ascended one flight of steps and nearly tumbled down another in search of some place that was quiet. Somewhere safe.

Anywhere that she couldn't hear the monster outside, raging against the Tower, trying to tear it down and rip her to pieces. That had to be what it was. There was no other explanation for it.

She screamed when something grabbed her, wrapped around her waist and pulled her backwards into a wall of warmth. Her vision was already blurred with tears that streamed down her cheeks, and she fought against whatever held her captive and nearly broke free.

"What happened?" His voice was calm as he spoke right into her ear, and while part of her screeched that it was just a trick, that she shouldn't trust anything she heard, something else stayed her flailing limbs. "Why are you bleeding?"

Her cold-numbed legs wouldn't hold her any longer, and she collapsed while great, heaving sobs wracked her body with tremors. Erik followed her to the floor, holding most of her weight so she didn't hurt herself further. She knew it was him, there was no questioning it when she felt his warm, calloused hands sliding over her bare arms. When she tried to speak, nothing came out. Nothing that could be understood, at least, but instead of getting angry and telling her to calm down, she found her head against his chest and his arms winding around her, holding her tenderly.

"It's okay," he said. "It's just a storm."

"It's a m-monster!"

"No," he chuckled. "Just a really bad storm, Lucy. It'll pass by morning." She kept crying though, because it had seemed so likely that this was something more sinister. And then, because he probably thought she was an idiot for getting so worked up over something as silly as a storm.

"The window… it… it…"

"I'll have someone fix the window. The hail must have been pretty bad to break it like that. Is it alright if I pick you up?"

Lucy nodded against him and his arms shifted, then he stood as though she weighed nothing at all and carried her back the way she'd come. Before she could consider the fact that he might be taking her back to her own room, Erik turned and walked through an open door, then another. He carefully set her down on something cold and hard, and when the crystals on the walls lit up the room, she found herself on a counter in a bathroom.

"Shit, you're really hurt."

She tried to use her arm to wipe away her tears, but he gently caught her by the wrist. Moments later, Erik blotted at her cheeks and eyes with the corner of a small cloth. She looked down at herself and cringed when she saw the crimson trails running down her legs, the scrapes on her hands and shins, tears in her nightgown and sparkling bits of glass protruding from her flesh. "I-I'm sorry…"

"Sorry for what? Being scared?"

Her head lowered in shame while he walked off to another part of the bathroom. He came back with a small leather bag and set it beside her on the counter. Crackling thunder nearly shook the room and she jumped and searched the ceiling for the sound.

"It's alright." Erik took her face in his hands and gently turned her toward him. "No matter what you hear, it's just the storm." His eye widened slightly after a moment. "You've never… been in a storm, have you?"

She shook her head and sniffled. It was pitiful and pathetic. She was pitiful. A grown woman, scared of something like the weather. No wonder his servants hadn't wanted her to stick around. She wasn't good enough. She was a crybaby and she'd never known it until that night.

"Now that's just a bunch of bullshit." Erik rested his forehead against hers and his fingers slid behind her ears, up into the long, loose strands of waist length hair that he'd only seen tied up and away from her face. "Plenty of people are scared of storms, okay? Macbeth is just butthurt over stupid shit, and I've already talked to him about running his mouth like some goddamn washing well wench."

She let out a watery laugh at that. It was the first time she'd ever heard someone curse so much and so often, but something about the way he did it really didn't seem all that bad. She kind of liked it.

"I'll get you cleaned up," he said. "Just be patient with me, since I've only got the one eye."

She saw his small, playful smirk, and sniffled her agreement. It hurt while he carefully pulled each piece of glass from her cuts with small metal tweezers, and it was even worse when he poured some clear, foul-smelling liquid over everything, but she just bit at her lips and kept herself quiet while he worked. Bandages were slowly wrapped around her knees, over parts of her legs, her hands. And then he pulled out a needle and thread.

He paused and swiped at the blood on her arm, then waited. Maybe he wasn't all that sure about what he was about to do.

"You're not afraid of needles, are you?"

"No."

"Okay, just stay still." He threaded the needle and brought it to the large gash on her arm, then stopped. Just before pushing it into her flesh, another bout of thunder rumbled in the air and Lucy jumped.

"Sorry!"

"It's alright," he said. She gasped as the needle punctured her flesh, but didn't allow herself to move until he finally bit the thread - had his teeth always been sharp enough to do that, and she hadn't noticed? - wiped at the stitches with a piece of cotton soaked with that dreadful smelling liquid, then wrapped it with bandages. "All done. You're quite the badass, _Lady_ Lucy. You didn't even cry over stitches."

She sat forward on the counter and wrapped her bandaged arms around him in a crushing hug. She was still a little cold, but that didn't matter. She just wanted to thank him for coming to the rescue, for taking care of her and helping her understand what was going on when she was so terrified. Slowly, almost as though he was unsure of himself, Erik returned the gesture. Without a thought over her modesty, Lucy's legs shifted so they weren't digging into his stomach, and she inched closer until she was flush against him.

"You're cold," he whispered. His warm breath against her throat sent goosebumps rippling across her flesh and she failed to suppress a small shiver. "You'll get sick if you don't warm up."

Lucy shook her head and held on tighter, grasping at his shoulders before he could try to push her away. Her cheek brushed against his pointed ear and her fingers moved across something odd. It felt like skin, but it wasn't smooth. Not the way it should have been. She looked down and found that he was shirtless.

She went still.

It wasn't the fact that her fingers traversed over only a few of the multitude of scars on his back. She vaguely wondered why they were there. Maybe they were scars from that bear attack he'd told her about when he was a child. But what concerned her was the fact that he wasn't wearing a shirt at all. Why wasn't he wearing a shirt?

' _Oh my god… No shirt. Oh, this isn't good. I'm cuddling with a shirtless man. A shirtless prince! And I'm only in my… Oh my god! My nightgown is NOT appropriate for anyone to see me! Oh why did I let Sorano give me this?! Sleeping in my own room, sure, it's fine. Getting snuggly with the damn prince who's barely wearing a thing, not so much! Oh my GOD!'_

He chuckled, and she could feel his breath hitting more than just her throat, where his mouth still was. With the realization of what she was wearing, something much closer to lingerie than a proper nightgown that would have covered her chest and reached her knees, Lucy remembered that her breasts had barely been covered by the silk material.

"I'll get you something else to wear," he said. "I won't peek."

Lucy pulled her hands back and watched as he stepped away with his eye closed. He pressed a hand to his only eye to cover it and left the bathroom. Except she'd looked.

Oh, dear sweet heavens, had she looked. The only clothing on him was a pair of black shorts that hugged his hips and thighs. She'd gotten far too good a view of his lean frame, the light definition of muscles leading down his stomach, a strip of maroon hairs that disappeared into the band of his shorts. And when he turned, it wasn't much better for her mental state. Past the scars on his back, her eyes were drawn to his narrow waist and hips, and then his rear end.

By the time he returned, still only wearing those shorts, her face hadn't cooled down in the slightest. She was sure sticking her head in the volcano beneath the Fire Palace would have been less intense than what she was experiencing.

"It should be a little better," he said, still covering his eye and handing her a white tunic with gold stitching.

Lucy quietly thanked him and pulled it on over her head, then removed the nightgown. She struggled to bend her arm properly to tie the laces over her chest though. That was going to be a problem. "U-Um… Can you…"

Erik slowly pulled his hand away from his face and found her eyes downcast while one hand fiddled with the strings by her chest. He came to stand in front of her once again and cinched the tunic closed from her navel to her throat, then tied it properly, all while watching only the bright flush to her cheeks.

"Thank you."

He smiled to himself, and it disappeared before she looked at him. "Are you feeling a little better?"

"A little."

"If you give me a minute, I'll put some clothes on. I want to show you something."

She nodded and waited while he got dressed, and only stepped down from the counter when he was back - mostly clothed in a similar tunic and a pair of black pants - and holding onto her waist to keep her steady. The tunic that covered her really didn't do much to keep her legs hidden, but at least her chest wasn't exposed any longer. She had a little modesty intact.

He silently led her out of the bathroom, and she spared the opulent bedroom with an oversized bed against the far window a single glance before they left. She wasn't sure where he was taking her, only that they were climbing higher and higher until he paused before a simple wooden ladder with a door in the ceiling above it.

"You ready?"

Lucy wasn't really sure what she could be ready for, but nodded anyway. He opened the door and she followed him up the ladder, and Lucy was left speechless at the sight before her. Above her. All around her, really.

They'd come to the very top of the Tower, to what appeared to be a large crystalline globe sitting atop the clouds. She stepped away from him and further into the room, spinning in a slow circle while she tried to take everything in. The clouds really were beneath them, churning and raging in that wintery storm that had so terrified her. And high above were millions of glittering motes of light. Hundreds of thousands of stars, twinkling so much closer than they'd ever been before.

For the first time in her life, she could see them clearly. She could feel her connection to them strengthening, even though her keys were still in her room. Would she have been able to summon her spirits even easier while standing so close? Her hand raised of its own accord, desperate to reach out and touch the home of her spirits. It was so _close_. The heavens were just on the other side of the glass surrounding them.

"I checked it out in the library." He came to stand beside her, gazing up at the sky as well. "You showed me those keys, and I wondered what sort of magic it was. It has to do with stars, right?"

"It does."

"I thought you might like to see this. I was worried that you wouldn't get to, since you can't see them in the daytime, obviously. And you might never come back… But I'm glad I could show you tonight."

"They're perfect… Thank you, Erik." She didn't see how he looked at her when she said just his name with no title attached to it. Her smiling face was directed heavenward. Her eyes shone with the giddiness that trilled in her soul.

"Lucy," he said, hesitating slightly. She finally looked at him again. "We don't have a lot of time together, but… would you…"

Her brows drew together when he sighed. "Would I…?"

"Would you maybe tell me about the stars?" he asked. "I can read about it in books, but… It sounds fucking stupid, but I'd rather hear you talk about them."

Her smile was impossibly bright when she agreed. He heard in her soul that no one ever cared to know about the magic she could use. And Erik knew without anyone having to tell him that it was a horrible idea to get to know her. She wouldn't be there for long. She wasn't going to return to him, and he knew that. In the morning, they would have first meal together, and then she would be taken to the King's Council, and Natsu and Ryos would both ask for her hand. He'd heard them from his home when she was there. They both wanted to marry her, have her bear their heirs and become the next queen. Igneel and Skiadrum both liked her as well.

His offer for her to be his ward was for nothing. She wouldn't return to this frozen Tower. The next time he saw her after that meeting, she would probably be wed and pregnant with someone else's child. But he was selfish. He'd accepted that a long time ago. Erik just wanted this one memory of her by _his_ side, telling him things that she'd never told anyone else. He wanted to listen to her voice for as long as she'd let him.

He arranged several heavy blankets on the floor that had been stacked in a corner, then laid down beside her and draped another large blanket over both of them to keep the slight chill in the air at bay.

She pointed to constellations with her bandage-covered hand, drawing symbols in the sky and telling each one's tale. At some point, he turned toward her and just listened to her voice. There were no more constellations she could point out, but she had so many stories to tell him. About her own spirits, about how her mother had used the same magic and passed her keys down to Lucy. She rolled onto her side beneath the blanket to face him, still smiling as she spoke in a hushed whisper.

He asked her questions, trying to soak in everything he could about her. No one ever talked to him like this, except for the king. But for the first time, there was someone else who wanted to spend time with him, to talk and just enjoy their time together. He knew without a doubt that it would never be enough with her. But Erik also knew that there was nothing to be done about it. He wouldn't force her to be with him. He wasn't that sort of man, no matter how selfish he wanted to be. She didn't want him or anyone else to take her choices away, and all he could do for her was be the one who refused to do that.

"Erik?"

"Hm?"

"Will you do something for me?" Her fingers drifted across his chest and up to his jaw. "Please?"

He wanted to say no. He really did. He knew it would be better to tell her that it was impossible, that he couldn't give her what she wanted, but then she moved closer and didn't let him get the words out. Her lips covered his in a gentle, exploring kiss. Her first kiss. Why she would want him to have something so precious, he'd never understand. She was intoxicating though as her tongue slipped between his lips. There was only so much he could handle. He wanted her, damnit. But the truth was that he could never have her. And with each passing second that he couldn't bring himself to pull away, he knew it would end badly.

Her soul asked for everything he couldn't give her, but he waited for her lips to say the words he longed to hear. She whispered his name so reverently while his hand pushed beneath the tunic covering her slender body and slid over her hips and waist.

It came out as nothing more than a gasp when his weight settled on top of her. Her kisses intensified and her hands trembled as she explored his shirtless form.

"We shouldn't," he rasped. "Lucy-"

"It's okay."

She wasn't disgusted by the scars on his back when she clutched herself to him as his hips settled between her pale, quivering thighs. She kept her gaze trained on his single indigo eye when he broke the kiss and gently eased into her, stealing her virtue for himself when he had no right to take it.

But her soul begged him to. Her swollen lips lifted in a giddy grin when their bodies molded together and he kissed her throat and chin and cheeks. The quiet mewls of delight grew in time with their writhing movements, until she was gasping, moaning, screaming his name. And all he could do was soak up the thrashing in her soul as it cried out for more of him, for everything he had to give. He wanted her to take it, to hoard all that he was and keep it forever in her heart.

Her back arched beautifully beneath him, ripping a crackling cry of ecstasy from her and a low groan from him as he speared into her one last time.

She didn't mind it when he collapsed on top of her, when he kissed her sweat-slicked chest and his arms wrapped around her. She just held him the way he'd secretly hoped she would. She held tightly and didn't let go even as the sun crested the horizon. Gentle golden rays bathed them in early morning light as they rolled across the strewn blankets, and her hips curled in a steady, heady rhythm that had him desperately trying to keep this moment forever.

He wanted to always remember how she looked with the sun shining down on her, lighting her hair in a golden halo with the clear blue sky above her. He wanted to burn into his memory how she smiled down at him, how it felt to have her hands on his chest, his hands moving her hips, seeing his own tunic slipping down her shoulders and baring her body for his eye only. Her long hair flowing around them, how she bent to kiss him again and again because she couldn't get enough of him either.

When he heard her soul sighing three words as they laid together, spent and panting and refusing to let go, Erik's eye finally closed. He ignored how his own soul echoed with dread, how it pleaded with him to accept her and everything she was. He'd taken enough from her. He was a selfish bastard, and he'd taken it all. All he could hope was that another prince wouldn't mind what he'd stolen. He'd never forgive himself if her life was ruined because of his selfishness.

* * *

Lucy stepped away from the teleportation runes and walked down the short hall to the King's Council antechamber. She didn't smile when she saw Prince Natsu and Prince Ryos standing in the circular room, talking with one another. Courtesy dictated that she should, but there was no way to do it. Her late night with Erik, and what they'd done well into the morning, replayed in her head over and over all during what was supposed to be her final meal with him. If they hadn't been alone, she never would have allowed him to toss their food to the floor and take her on the small table in the library. His kisses had been so passionate, so desperate, and she hadn't been able to stop herself from giving over to his soft whispers and pleas for more of her.

But it had felt like a goodbye, in more than one sense of the word.

She had to keep reminding herself that he wasn't going to marry her. She'd given herself to him freely, but he still wouldn't take her as his wife. He'd made sure she understood that while kissing her cheeks, while his hips slapped against her and he groped her corseted breasts.

They would never be together.

She should have been happy about that. She should have been ecstatic that he wouldn't force her into a marriage.

"Luce!"

She forced a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes when Prince Natsu met her in the middle of the antechamber. His more relaxed clothing was gone, replaced by burnished orange breeches and black riding boots, a red brocade doublet adorned with gold beads along the hems. He wore a dark red cape draped over one shoulder and tied beneath the opposite arm. He didn't try to hug her, and she could see that he really wanted to. He was subdued. Much more than he'd been when they'd first met.

"Hello again, Prince Natsu," she said with a graceful curtsy. She turned to Prince Ryos when he met with them as well. He appeared almost the same as the day she'd met him. His clothes were finely pressed and mostly black and silver. His own cape reached down to his knees and didn't cover his shoulders at all, but she was surprised to find it was a beautiful shade of emerald that truly complimented his burning crimson eyes. "Prince Ryos."

"Lady Lucy. You seem to have fared better than I anticipated."

"I did." She could feel his eyes on the bandages peeking out from beneath her elbow length gloves.

"Whoa, what happened?" Prince Natsu grabbed her hand and pulled her arm forward, then peeled at the edge of her glove. "Did Erik do that?"

"N-No," she said. "A storm hit the Tower last night, and hail broke my window."

"That is what happens when you build something so structurally compromised," Prince Ryos said. "It's good to see you weren't hurt worse than a scrape or two."

"I actually needed stitch-"

"Man, you should've just stayed with us," Prince Natsu said, dropping her arm and grinning. "We never have crazy snow storms like that."

"You live on a volcano," Prince Ryos said.

"Yeah, well _you_ never go outside. What are you, a vampire?"

Lucy closed her eyes in exasperation and pulled at her glove to fix it above her bandages. Fast footsteps sounded from the hall she'd come down upon her arrival, and she turned toward it to see who else might be coming. The soft hiss she heard from the hall gave her a pretty good clue though.

"Whoa, Erik," Prince Natsu laughed. "What's with the clothes?"

His hair was the same as it had been the day before, but he didn't look the same to her. Erik didn't stop in his trek to the door on the other side of the antechamber with Cubellios slithering beside him. His eye was hard and unforgiving, staring straight ahead. His shirt and pants from the day before had been replaced with an ornate navy dolman top with frosted blue cords running in rows across his chest and simple navy slacks. It was so formal, almost militaristic with its rigidity and order. Over his shoulders rested a pelisse lined with white ermine, with the same navy and ice colors making up a coat of arms across his back.

"Where do you think you're going?" Prince Ryos asked when Erik pressed a hand to the king's seal on the Council door. "The Frost King should…"

A pale blue sigil glowed at the top of the door and it swept open, granting him entrance. The door slammed shut behind him and Cubellios, leaving Lucy with the two stunned princes alone in the antechamber.

"He went in," Prince Natsu whispered.

"That's impossible."

Lucy didn't dare ask what they meant. She didn't need to know. But she'd hoped that he would at least greet her. She'd hoped he wouldn't ignore her. Had the time they'd spent together meant nothing at all? Had he really been so selfish to take her virginity, to use her body as he'd wished while she was with him, only to ignore her after it was all said and done? Maybe it was for the best, if he wasn't going to take her as his wife. She didn't need the others knowing that she wasn't pure any longer. There was no telling what would happen to her if someone found out that she'd given that gift to someone who wasn't her husband. Banishment would probably be the least of her worries.

She ignored the princes near her while staring at the door across the room. She wasn't sure how long they waited, but eventually the door opened of its own accord. Prince Natsu and Prince Ryos held out their arms for her and led her forward. She wasn't ready for this. She wanted to run as far and as fast as she could, but Lucy knew that wasn't an option. It would only make her a disgrace and ensure her banishment.

They left her standing just inside the King's Council chamber and moved to take their seats beside their fathers. The room was well lit with an ornate iron chandelier hanging in the center over a stylized triangular prism made of green and red and blue tiles on the floor. Lucy slowly walked forward and stood in the center of the prism.

To her left King Igneel sat in a large throne made of black stone with intricate etchings all along the arms and legs. A smaller empty throne sat to his left, and Prince Natsu had taken a seat in another throne on his right.

To her right was King Skiadrum in a marble throne with identical etchings. An empty throne sat to his left, and Prince Ryos took the seat on his right.

And directly in front of her was Erik, sitting in the center throne made of bright blue crystals with no one to accompany him on either side. He was alone, just like he always was from what she understood. Well, with the exception of Cubellios, who had coiled around the top of the throne and laid completely still.

"Now that everyone is here," King Igneel said, "There is an announcement to be made."

"Dad," Natsu said with a frown.

"The Frost King has passed from this life, leaving Prince Erik as the named heir to his kingdom."

Everyone turned toward the lone figure in his throne - a king's throne, Lucy realized, while gazing at the thick platinum necklace with a large sapphire around his throat - and he said nothing. Erik simply nodded.

"We will continue the alliance between our lands," King Skiadrum said. "Should you need assistance from the Earth Kingdom, you need only to ask."

"As with the Fire Kingdom," Igneel agreed.

Erik let out a slow breath and kept his single eye directed to the ground. "The Frost Kingdom thanks you for your kindness," he said. Lucy wondered if his voice had always been so chilling and distant. Had she simply imagined the warmth she'd felt from him? "My predecessor informed me, at great length, of your generosity. I aim to maintain the ideals he set forth during his own time as king."

"Erik," Natsu said softly, leaning forward just a little to get a better look at the once-prince. "What-"

"That's _king_ ," Igneel hissed, glaring at his son. "Show some respect, Natsu."

"Sorry… King Erik, what happened to him?" Lucy barely caught sight of Ryos and Skiadrum covering their faces with one hand at the exact same time.

"The day before Lady Lucy arrived at the Tower of Heaven his illness took a turn. There was nothing we could do to save him, even though we tried everything. He passed his title to me that day, and I sat with him while he drew his final breaths."

"And you didn't tell anyone," Skiadrum mused.

"What difference does two days make?" Erik asked. "I'm not officially recognized by my country yet. You're the first to know."

"They should have known the day he died."

"Well, they didn't. They'll find out when I return today. There was enough going on with _this_ …" Erik paused and waved a hand toward Lucy without looking her way. "I didn't need to have everyone up in arms over me becoming their ruler without a queen as well."

"Which brings us to the reason we're all here," Igneel said. Lucy tried not to shrink away from their attention when everyone turned toward her. Even Erik looked at her. "As newly appointed king, your choice takes precedence over the other princes in this matter. I know what you said, but Erik… You need to consider your people."

"There hasn't been a queen in the Frost Kingdom for nearly one hundred years," Skiadrum said. "The last king ruled for almost eighty years without one, and his mother had been dead since his birth. It's your duty to accept a bride."

"I refuse."

"What?" Natsu shouted. He looked from Lucy's downcast eyes back to the new Frost King. "What's wrong with Luce that you don't wanna marry her?"

"..."

"Erik, your predecessor assured us that you would take a queen and provide a proper heir to your throne," Skiadrum said.

"And if Lady Lucy isn't to your liking, then there are still two other women coming," Igneel added.

"I told him I would go through with this," Erik said slowly. "But do keep in mind that I can hear you. All of you. And knowing what I do now, I can't agree to it. I won't take a queen from the nobles that are sent from the Waters."

"Then what do you suggest?" Igneel asked.

"I'll do as my predecessor, and choose my own heir. That's the only way."

"Moron," Ryos sighed almost silently.

"We can't change your mind?" Igneel asked one last time. "If you need some time-"

"I don't need any time to mull this over. I've been thinking about it since he died," Erik spat. "Do what you will with her. This doesn't concern me any longer."

Lucy's eyes closed against the tears burning at her lashes. He wasn't as crass as he had been around her. His speech was more controlled than she'd heard the day before. He wasn't being himself. But maybe she didn't really know him all that well.

"Well, I'll take Luce as a bride," Natsu said. "She only screamed a little when I took her to the center of the castle. Pretty good for a girl, so…"

"We would like to negotiate," Skiadrum said, glaring at Natsu. "I believe she would be a great asset for my kingdom."

"Same here," Igneel chuckled. "But she's more of a free spirit, don't you think? You might suffocate her with all those rules, Skiddly-doo."

"She should be with us," Skiadrum said. "Ryos is more than ready to bring the heir-"

She had to stop listening, otherwise she really was going to vomit. Didn't they realize she was standing right there? Didn't they care that she could hear them? She had feelings, damnit. She was her own person in everything until it came down to what would happen in her life.

Why couldn't she be the one to make a choice for herself? She'd done it the night before with Erik. Except, that hadn't ended well. Even though they'd spent the night together, he didn't want her to stay with him. Maybe he thought her behavior was unsavory. She'd thrown herself at him, had all but begged him to take her purity. What if he was disgusted by her, knowing that she'd allowed him to do that even though they weren't wed?

"- Look at her hips! Those are perfect for Fire magic-"

' _I hate this. I hate this. I hate this… Shut up… Just shut up, all of you…'_

There was more to her than how well she could bear children for some prince she barely knew. She was more than a soft body with breasts and thighs and a mouth for a man to take as his own. She had a brain. She read constantly. She had her own magic that she trained with so hard, only for it to be ignored.

Erik set his attention on Lucy, but she didn't see the way his eye narrowed slightly at the glittering air just beside her. The two kings and princes didn't stop arguing, even when a large man with a white goat's head, wearing a black suit and sunglasses, suddenly appeared in a puff of pink smoke and golden sparkles, kneeling in front of her.

"Hi, Capricorn," she said quietly. The spirit pulled a handkerchief from his suit jacket and handed it to her, then disappeared once more.

No one commented on it. Igneel and Skiadrum had moved on to yelling over one another and there were already scorch marks on the floor around the Fire King's throne. Erik was the only one who saw her lift the handkerchief to her downcast eyes and blot away her tears.

' _Shut up… all of you just stop. I'm right here. Why won't you ask what I want? Don't you care?'_

This wasn't something Lucy had asked for. She'd never wanted to be a queen or anything like it. She didn't want to marry someone who didn't care about her own opinions. What kind of queen would she be aside from a woman in a pretty dress if her future husband couldn't count on her to make a sound decision? If they weren't equals, then what was the point of being married in the first place?

Her parents had been lucky enough to marry for love, and she'd watched them as she grew older. They did everything together. Her father had always looked to her mother to support him, and when she didn't agree with his ideas, Lucy had witnessed how they talked things out. They weren't normal in the slightest where she'd come from, but that was _her_ normal. And that was what she'd dreamt of having. Not pompous assholes who only cared about the space between her legs pumping out little boys to take the throne. They said they liked that she was smart, but that didn't mean much to them. She could tell. And the only one who had cared about her opinion in the slightest, the only one who had taken the time to ask Lucy what she wanted out of all of this, was the only person who wasn't fighting for her. Her head lifted and she stared straight ahead to find him watching her. For the first time since he'd come into this meeting, he didn't look bored. Or very well put together.

He looked as sad as he had the night before, when he'd offered to make her his ward.

Lucy wondered if she was the only one to have seen the way he looked while in the throes of passion. Had what they'd done meant nothing to him? For the first time in her life, someone had taken the time to listen to her. He cared about her magic. He'd actually asked about it, unlike Natsu and Ryos. She'd given everything of herself to a man, and maybe it had been impulsive, but she'd thought they had a connection. She'd thought there was something between them, that he understood her better than anyone had ever tried to before.

Lucy didn't want to be with Natsu or Ryos. She knew, when she looked at the scarred Frost King before her, that he was the one. There was no fear of being banished for her. She could have a home in his kingdom, just like he'd said. If she made a fool of herself, she wouldn't be turned away.

"- You're insane if you think I'll let you weasel your way in and get this one, Skiddy!"

"Why you overbearing-"

"Enough!" Lucy bellowed. "God, just shut up already!" The room went silent with everyone's eyes locked on the suddenly scowling blonde. She never looked away from Erik. "I choose the Frost King."

"I beg your pardon?" Skiadrum asked.

"Lady Lucy," Igneel said slowly, "That isn't how this works."

Her eyes flicked to the left, narrowed and agitated. "Why doesn't it work that way?" she asked. "Why am I not allowed to choose who I take as a husband?"

"It simply isn't done," Skiadrum chuckled. She turned to him instead when Igneel said nothing.

"And why isn't it? Why do you men get to choose who will marry me, when I'm a person too? Or do you only care about maintaining the power for yourselves? What, are women not allowed to have opinions in your kingdom? I'd thought you were more progressive than that, your highness."

"Luce, just relax," Natsu said. "You're getting worked up over nothing."

"Am I, though?" All the back and forth between the two sides was making her dizzy. She needed to channel her anger though, and the easiest way to do that was by looking in one spot. Erik just so happened to be directly in her line of sight, so she settled for him. "Tell me, would any of you want to be bargained for like some ridiculous painting at an auction? I'm not some object to be passed around, even though that's what this entire thing has been about!"

"You should mind your manners, Lady Lucy," Ryos said. "You're speaking to royalty."

"No, I'm speaking to four arrogant bastards who think they can do whatever they want with a woman, without asking her own opinion on what happens to her body. You might be rulers in your kingdoms, but the only time you have any say over _me_ is when I'm above the Waters."

"Which you are right now," Igneel said with a raised brow. "You could be hanged for this."

"Would you really hang me?" she spat. "For making my voice heard because I won't be forced into a marriage I don't want? Would you really allow your son to bed me, when I don't want him to? Don't you have laws against that sort of conduct for your commoners? Or are you all above those laws because you happen to wear a pretty necklace and live in some palace?"

She took a small step closer to Erik and found his lips twitching ever so slightly in a poor attempt at a smile. Or maybe he was just trying not to smile at all.

"I made my choice," she said. "If the Frost King won't marry me, then I'll return home and be banished from nobility."

"What?" Natsu asked, frowning. "That sounds kinda dumb."

"The Frost King has removed himself from this," Skiadrum said. "He won't take a queen, as you heard him say earlier."

"Erik," she said, taking another step forward. "I don't want to marry anyone else."

"Lady Lucy, that's far enough!" Skiadrum shouted. "If you take one more step…"

"I gave myself to you," she said, loud enough for everyone to hear. She didn't care anymore. She didn't want to be with him because he was a king. It had never been about that for her. She'd known the night before, when she'd given herself to him. Somewhere deep within her soul, Lucy had known that he was the one. "I don't care if everyone here knows it. I gave you everything I am, and you accepted me. They can think whatever they want, but I want to marry a man who cares about _my_ desires."

"You've got to be kidding me," Igneel sighed, covering his face with his hand. Natsu's frown deepened when Lucy removed her elbow-length gloves and revealed the bandages running down her arms and onto her hands.

"I want to marry a man who will take care of me when I need it, but still respects me," she said. "I want a husband who sees me for more than breasts and a vagina."

"Honestly," Ryos sighed to himself. "Lucy, control your language."

"What I want is to marry someone who makes me feel the same way that my parents felt when they were young." She took another step forward. "I want-"

"That's it!" Skiadrum bellowed. His hand lifted and sharp tendrils of shadows sprung from the ground on a direct path to Lucy.

"Cubellios!" Erik hissed. Lucy's eyes went wide as Erik jumped from his throne and pushed her to the ground while shadows streaked through the air. He landed on top of her, covering her as much as possible and she was just barely able to see his snake flying on a direct path to Skiadrum. The Earth King stood with his son behind him, snarling up at Cubellios who loomed over him and hissed, ready to strike.

"Call this thing off," Ryos said. "Erik, my father was trying to keep you from being attacked by her."

"I wasn't trying to attack him!" she screeched.

"Shh," Erik whispered. "Will you let me handle this?"

She silently fumed, earning a quiet chuckle from him in the process. Hadn't she just been ranting about not wanting to shut up and let men control everything? So much for him listening to her.

"I heard that. And I was listening." Erik lifted his head after pressing a barely-there kiss to her hair that she wasn't aware of. "Cubellios, that's enough. As long as King Skiadrum doesn't try using his magic in here, I won't use mine either."

"Sending your snake isn't-" Skiadrum started, only for Igneel to cut him off.

"Oh, shut up, Skiddly-wink. Do you really want to be poisoned in this small room?" He paused and let his gaze wander toward Erik as the new king helped Lucy sit up. "Would you care to explain what is going on?"

"Well, what she said is true."

"Which part?" Skiadrum spat. "The hysterical rambling or admitting she's a-"

"I hear you," Erik snarled. "And if you finish that thought, I won't stop Cubellios from eating your scrawny ass." Lucy's gentle grip on his shoulder made him pause, and he took a slow breath then nodded to her silent plea. "I did spend the night with her. That wasn't a lie."

"Then why would you turn down marrying her?" Igneel asked.

"Probably for the same reason I am," Ryos said. "Lady Lucy, you have my apologies, but I will not marry an impure woman."

"I didn't want to marry you anyway, so it works out," she shrugged.

"Watch your tongue, you guttersnipe," Skiadrum said.

Igneel rolled his eyes when Cubellios reared up, ready to strike at the Earth King on Erik's command. "Natsu, thoughts?"

"I really don't mind," he said. "Luce was a lot of fun to run around with."

"This is definitely a different side of her."

Erik gently pulled her bandaged hands into his and helped her stand. "Cubellios, you can come back. The Earth Kingdom has withdrawn, which means they can sit in silence while this gets sorted out."

Lucy smiled while the large winged serpent - what in the world, when did Cubellios get _wings_?! - slithered across the room and coiled its body around herself and Erik. She reached up and instantly felt its snout pressing against her palm.

"King Erik, the Fire Kingdom is the only one prepared to take Lucy as a future queen," Igneel said.

"Because Natsu wants her," Erik nodded. "Sure, but what about what Lucy wants?"

"Oh, please," Skiadrum muttered, rolling his eyes. "She's hysterical and delusional."

"I'm hysterical because I know that I don't want to fuck your son with a stick up his ass?" Lucy asked. "Or Natsu because he's more like a brother than someone I'd want to marry?"

Igneel's brows shot up when Cubellios nuzzled Lucy's cheek and its forked tongue flicked across her nose and the blonde didn't react in the slightest. "Well…"

"What would your wife say about this, King Igneel?" Erik asked.

"She came from the same place," he said. "She knows what's happening right now."

"True, but I've met her. She was glad to be the first one chosen, because it meant she could figure out which prince she thought was the most handsome and then use her assets to ensure she would be picked."

"Hey, don't talk about my mom that way!" Natsu's hands flickered with roiling flames.

Erik put his hands up and smirked. "I'm not saying anything bad about her. Queen Grandine is a wonderful woman. All I'm saying is, she wanted to be a queen. And she fell in love with King Igneel here after they were married. But she was at least attracted to him."

"... Don't talk about my mom _that_ way either," Natsu muttered. "So gross."

Erik turned his attention to Igneel again. "If Lucy isn't chosen by anyone, she'll be sent back beneath the Waters and banished from her home," he said. "That's what happens to all the noblewomen who come as prospective queens, but don't marry a prince. Are you honestly telling me that your wife would want you to force a woman to marry Prince Natsu, when she knows that refusing him with no other offers of marriage means she'll be exiled?"

"Why would someone choose that?" Igneel asked.

"Ask her for yourself."

Lucy felt their eyes on her, but her will to fight had died. All she cared about was whether Erik would accept her. She hadn't gotten an answer though. And now he was talking as if there was only the option of being chosen by Natsu or returning to the Waters.

"Lucy?" Igneel asked.

"I want to marry for love," she said, staring at the ground. "I just want someone to see me for me, and Erik was the only one who even asked to see my magic. He… He understands what it's like for people to hate you for no reason. So, if he won't marry me, then I'll go back. I'll take my exile."

After a pregnant pause, Igneel sighed, but it was Natsu who spoke. "I don't wanna marry you, Luce. Not if it's something you don't want." His brows drew together when a sad smile lifted her lips. "But I don't want you to get banished or anything, either."

"Well, it appears that's what will happen, if she's telling the truth," Skiadrum said.

"She won't," Erik said. He lifted her chin and chuckled quietly. "No, you won't have to be my ward either. Ask me again."

Her eyes shined with happy tears when she saw his smile. It was more than just a quirk to his lips or a bare twitch into a smirk. It was full and bright and dimpled his cheeks. "Will you marry me?"

"Hell yes."

"This was a complete waste of time," Skiadrum said with a scowl. "If you were planning on doing this from the beginning, then why-"

"Father, shut up," Ryos sighed. "While I don't think it should have been handled this way, I can concede that someone should have the right to choose who they marry." He gave Lucy a small smile when she turned toward him. "Even women."

Skiadrum glared at his son, then at Igneel when the king and prince from the Fire Kingdom started laughing. "Oh, he told you, Skittles!"

"Where are you getting these names from?!" Skiadrum screeched.

Lucy bit her lips to hold back a laugh. It broke free a moment later when Igneel jumped across the room and put Skiadrum in a good-natured headlock and tousled his previously pristine hair. Cubellios' snout pressed against her cheek, turning her attention back to Erik.

"You're not the only one who wants to marry for love," he said softly. "And no one has ever treated me the way you do, except for the last Frost King. He saw who I really was, and he helped me learn everything that I know." She wondered if that included his very colorful language. "It did. When it was just us, his mouth was worse than mine."

Lucy blushed when Cubellios squeezed around them, pushing her closer to Erik. He cupped her cheeks and his lips hovered over hers. Was he really going to kiss her right then, in front of everyone? Still, he was smiling. It was the first time he'd looked so happy, like the dreary cloud surrounding him couldn't touch his soul no matter what.

"Ack, Igneel you… stop that!" Skiadrum shrieked.

"Ryos, you're mine!" Natsu cackled.

"Stay away from me, Natsu!"

"I'm all fired up!"

"That's my line, son!" Igneel laughed.

The scuffling and shouting from the men who were supposed to be regal and composed faded away as Erik's lips finally met with hers. He tasted the same as the night before, exotic and intoxicating, and just like the first time they kissed, there was nothing that could stop her from melting against him.

"Oooh," Natsu and Igneel crooned.

"Erik and Lucy sitting in a tree!" Natsu sang.

"K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" Igneel added.

"First comes love."

"Then comes marriage!"

"Then comes a prince in the baby carriage," Ryos finished with a sigh from where he was pinned beneath the grinning Fire prince, who was pulling his hair into high pigtails.

Lucy laughed into the kiss and finally turned to the royal pile in the center of the chamber, only to see King Skiadrum vault from the ground and knock Igneel down in a most undignified way.

"From what the old man told me," Erik said, "Skiadrum and Igneel have always been like this."

"Really?" she giggled.

"Natsu and Ryos are the same way," he said just before Ryos used his shadows to lift Natsu off of him by the scruff of his neck, then tossed him across the room.

"And these people are the future of the other two kingdoms."

"We're all doomed," he chuckled. "I know."

* * *

 _ **.One Year Later.**_

* * *

Jude Heartfilia stood in the town square with the other nobles, watching the royal procession of knights arrange themselves into two perfectly straight lines. The Waters were abuzz with gossip of what was to happen that day, for the first time ever, but he didn't pay attention to any of them. The stone dais on its raised platform glowed a vibrant orange, and everyone present gasped and cheered when two men, one with red hair and the other with pink, appeared in similar red and gold livery. Just beside them stood a woman with shoulder length white hair and a gentle smile, holding a blue-haired infant girl on her hip.

"I present the Fire King and Queen, Igneel and Grandine Dragneel," the announcer called out to the crowd. "The Fire Prince Natsu Dragneel, and their newest addition, Princess Wendy Dragneel."

They smiled and waved wildly at the crowd. The king and prince's hands burst into flames, and everyone in the crowd was amazed when the prince shouted his greeting and a stream of fire flowed from between his lips. Finally, the Fire king and his son jumped down from the dais, then Igneel turned and helped his wife and daughter down the provided steps for all of them to stand beside it.

It glowed green next, and another two men appeared, both with black shoulder-length hair and wearing nearly identical black and silver clothing.

"I present the Earth King Skiadrum Cheney, and the Earth Prince Ryos Cheney."

Neither smiled, but kept their chins held high while the crowd cheered. Black wisps of shadows slithered up from the dais around their feet and latched onto their hands. The Earth King and prince hovered above the stone dais and gently floated down to stand beside the royals from the Fire Kingdom.

" _... haven't seen her…"_

" _She probably ran off somewhere…"_

" _Shh, her father's right there…"_

" _... such a disappointment…"_

Jude ignored the whispers around him and kept his gaze trained on the dais. He hadn't been near the front of the gathering, but not seeing Lucy's arrival just yet had him worried. What if she'd run off while on the land? What if only the Frost King and prince arrived, and they'd left her back in their kingdom? Was she happy? Was she safe?

Had her mouth gotten her into trouble again?

It felt like a lifetime passed before the dais glowed once more in an icy, chilling blue. The crowd went silent as the light grew brighter and brighter, until everyone's eyes closed against it. Jude kept pushing to the front of the crowd though until he finally stopped just before the royal guards that kept the nobles away from the entry point from the land above. The light died down and murmurs shot through the crowd when all that was visible was a large, vicious purple serpent, coiled around itself and rearing its head to gaze at them all. It seemed to send a glare across the gathered nobles until a young man with maroon hair and dark skin stepped around it.

"And finally, the newly crowned Frost King Erik Vivas," said the announcer.

He didn't smile, and there were no cheers for him as he stood with his arms crossed over his militaristic navy dolman jacket and his single functioning eye closed. After a moment, his eye opened and he removed his ermine-lined cape, then held it out for the serpent to take from him with its mouth.

" _... what's going on?"_

" _... did she turn into a snake?"_

" _Who is this? Is he really the Frost King?"_

"... _He's so young though... Does that mean the last king died?"_

Jude took a small step forward, pushing against the knights who set their swords in his path. "Lucy, where are you?" he whimpered.

The snake's body shifted and loosened, and everyone watched as a slender, feminine hand slipped into the Erik's. Moments later, the nobles saw Lucy with her hair unpinned and hanging down past her hips, wearing a glittering navy dress that hugged beneath her bust and flowed in swathes of sheer, pale blue fabric down to her feet. The cape that Erik had removed was draped over her shoulder and tied beneath her arm on the opposite side.

"Lucy," Jude breathed. He openly smiled up at her, even though she didn't look back him. But he didn't mind it. He was just happy to see the life in her eyes - so similar to her mother's - and that she still had that fullness in her cheeks that had been cause for many instances of pinching in the past.

"And the new Frost Queen Lucy Vivas," the announcer amended. Erik turned and waved the squat, stout man closer, and everyone stared in silence as the new Frost King whispered something to him. He looked from Erik to Lucy and back, then a wide smile stretched across his red, chubby face. "Now, this is wonderful news. Please refrain from celebrating too loudly, folks. It appears the Frost Kingdom has received its first heir, who is having a meal and sleeping at the same time. I have the honor of introducing you all to Princess Marie Vivas."

Regardless of anyone else's thoughts on the matter, Jude smiled. Tears welled and spilled quickly as he looked up at his daughter. He had a granddaughter. A beautiful, precious granddaughter that he would only ever dream of seeing in person. Jude knew how this worked. Lucy was now living her own life, and this was the closest he would ever come to being a part of it. His relationship as her father was dissolved the moment she left the Waters. Now he was just a nobleman who would gladly serve orders from her, as his monarch's wife.

Lucy looked right at him, and her smile brightened even further. Even though she was a queen, she was still the same girl. Jude relaxed just a little when he saw the way she tapped on Erik's arm and said something he couldn't quite hear, then pointed right at him. The Frost King's eye softened just a little and he nodded.

Jude watched with everyone else as the Frost King's magic soared into the air in a brilliant prismatic wash of colors. Erik's arm wrapped around Lucy's waist and he led her to the edge of the dais and down the steps to stand with the other royals.

The announcer handed Igneel the microphone, and the Fire King took several steps forward to speak directly to the crowd.

"For centuries, we have held the tradition of noblewomen from the Waters being sent to each kingdom in search of finding brides for our princes," he said. "And this tradition has served us well in the past. However, it has come to the kingdoms' attention of the repercussions of being returned to the Waters if no proposal is given." Jude's jaw tightened when he heard the uncomfortable murmurs from those around him. "So, to combat this barbarism in a society that should be an example for all, we have decided to change this tradition. Each year that a prince reaches the age of maturity, in every generation, he will come to the Waters to find a suitable bride."

" _You're kidding me."_

" _This is ridiculous."_

" _Wait, does that mean I could actually have a shot?"_

"We will no longer force women to marry our sons against their will."

" _Oh, who cares? They're hot!"_

"From now on, our kingdoms will be more… progressive," Igneel said, sending a smile over his shoulder to Lucy and gaining one from the blonde in return. "And we'll show respect to the women who have deserved it from us all this time."

"What about the princess?" someone from the crowd shouted.

"Yeah, are they going to try for a prince?"

"Does that mean _she'll_ choose her husband?"

Igneel raised his hands to quiet the growing unrest in the crowd, but it was Skiadrum who silenced them all with a wave of shadows zipping through the town that chilled them to the core. He stepped forward and thanked the Fire King for the microphone, then spoke. "Frost Princess Marie will do as she sees fit, just as her mother before her," he said. "I believe we can all learn something from their example of open-mindedness."

"Three cheers for women!" Natsu shouted with a wide grin.

The crowd instantly joined in, until Erik rushed forward and growled into the microphone, "I swear to fucking god if you wake up my daughter right now, I'll-"

"Erik!" Lucy shouted. "Language!"

Jude watched the other two kings drop their heads to their hands in defeat, with helpless smiles taking root on all of their faces while Lucy came forward and pulled on her husband's ear, dragging him away from Skiadrum and back toward the large hissing - or was it laughing? - snake.

At least his daughter hadn't lost her spark of individuality. He could only hope that his granddaughter was the same. Then again, knowing Lucy, little Princess Marie would probably grow up even more outspoken.

Oh, the world was doomed. And oddly enough, Jude was fine with that.

 _ **.The End.**_

* * *

 **I'm not really sure how I feel about the ending there, but that was pretty much where I wanted it to go. I guess. I don't even know.**

 **But I'm glad that I tried doing something different with this and just let myself run with it. I hope the last 21k hasn't been a complete bore to read.**


	9. Day 8 - One With Nature

**A/N: It's the official final day of** _ **CoLu Week 2017**_ **, and let me tell you… it's been one hell of a ride! I've loved all the reviews you guys have left, and they've definitely brightened up my days spent glaring at the keys and cursing the characters in my novel.**

 ** _(Note: The previous sentence was a lie. I have done nothing with my novel yet... I've spent the past week being a total bum and spending time with family. And I finally started watching Inuyasha. In on episode... 15, maybe. I have enjoyed the reviews and reading some other CoLu Week entries though)_**

 **I did a lot of back and forth on what the final day was going to be. There was the** _ **Poison Slayer!Lucy**_ **continuation, a** _ **What I Crave**_ **epilogue thing, then I figured I'd just end CoLu Week this year with the second half of the** _ **Who Says Fairy Tales Are Normal?**_ **from Day 4. And then, I got an idea. I have no idea where it came from, but I just ran with it. I've been having a lot of fun experimenting with different fantasy themes, kind of forcing myself to branch away from the standard canon setting.**

 **Just so you're aware now… Cobra is very OoC in this. I've never really written him this way, but I hope you guys enjoy it nonetheless. It was kinda fun to write him like this, but I doubt it'll be a recurring thing.**

 **Sorry for this being posted later than I normally do. It was just before midnight when I remembered that this really needed one more scene to make the ending a little less... Well, to make me like the ending a little more, I guess.**

 **So without further ado, I give you the final day of CoLu Week 2017.**

* * *

 **Bonus Day: Curse**

 _ **One With Nature**_

* * *

She'd passed Darkwood many times in her life, but Lucy had never had the bravery necessary to venture inside the forbidden forest on the western side of town. Stories from those in the village travelled quickly from one home to another, and even though her father tried to ensure she never heard the commoners' tales, it was hard to ignore.

But that night was different. She hadn't a care in the world of those old folk legends she'd heard from the servants around the manor. Not while dashing, barefoot, across the stream at the edge of her father's property. She could hear hounds baying from somewhere far behind her. Had she been smarter, quieter, no one would have known that she'd seen the foul play that had befallen her father. No one would have been any the wiser. Her betrothed, a vile man she'd begged her father to send away, was more despicable than she could have guessed. If only she hadn't called out when she'd seen him slit her father's throat in his study. If only she hadn't screamed at Ivan to stop. His eyes had been so cold, soulless yet intense, as a manic grin stretched over his face.

The hounds bayed louder, howling with fervor as though she was nothing more than some fox or wild game. Lucy's breaths were ragged as she scrambled up the hill leading away from her home. She couldn't let him find her. He'd kill her. Worse yet, he would force her to marry him right away and take the money that would have been in her father's estate. And then he would kill her.

"Run," she huffed to her screaming legs. "Come on, go faster!"

Her nightdress snagged on a branch as she jumped into the high hedges surrounding the property, but she paid it no attention and forced her way through, out onto the thoroughfare that had recently been paved with cobblestones - the first street in town that had been paved this way. They were cold against her feet, and even though her body begged to slow, Lucy couldn't.

Harsh barks came from down the road and she turned in time to see two men running toward her from the drive to her home. They called out to her, but she didn't waste her breath with a response.

Fire fueled her muscles to push her onward, across the street and through the dusty town square. And finally she came to the edge of town. To the gap in the homes and shops around the area that led toward Darkwood. Fear stayed her trembling legs. Going into Darkwood was forbidden, dangerous. There were monsters in there the size of houses. Fae who would lull you to sleep and then eat your brains while you were still alive. Demons slithered in the branches and reached out to tear off women's clothing, only for others to hold them down and impregnate them with hellish offspring.

"Get back here, woman!" Ivan bellowed. She didn't have to see him to know that there was still blood on his waistcoat and the black gloves he'd been wearing. She could hear the hatred in his voice and picture his vicious scowl while his steps drew closer.

She couldn't stall any longer. Even as she took the first step and the hounds barked louder, gaining on her now that she'd slowed, Lucy felt as though her world was crumbling around her.

Did she dare to venture into this forbidden forest, just to get away from him?

"You'll regret this!"

Yes. Yes, she did.

She darted forward once more, unaware of the sudden kiss of soft grass beneath her feet as the thick trunks that had so frightened her as a child drew closer. She hissed as bark scraped against her thigh, tearing at her nightdress and leaving a slip of the white silk behind. Still, she pushed on. Even as twigs bit into the soft soles of her feet and branches snapped against her face and hands, Lucy refused to stop. She turned right and rounded a large oak, hopped over the roots that had lifted from beneath the forest floor, and couldn't muffle a scream when she slipped down a rocky bank that led into a chilly creek. She splashed and gasped while scrambling through it, no matter how often her feet and hands slid across slimy rocks beneath the surface.

"Where are you, Lucy?!" Ivan bellowed.

She glanced back once she reached the opposite bank and watched as a dark shadow shot past where she'd turned off.

She still couldn't stop though. What if he turned round and found her sitting there? What if he'd brought a hunting rifle with him? She couldn't hear the hounds, but they most likely had refused to follow her into the forest. No one would question her disappearance if someone had seen her run off into Darkwood. If he turned back and went to town, he could claim everything of hers for himself. All he'd have to do is say she died in Darkwood.

Lucy paid no mind to the dirt clinging to her, sullying her clothing, while she climbed up the bank and ran through the trees. She didn't know where to go though. As long as she stayed away from Ivan, then everything would be fine. As long as she made it to morning, then she could find her way back to town and have him arrested for the murder of her father.

As long as she survived the night, everything would be fine.

As long as she kept running. As long as she stayed out of Ivan Dreyar's clutches.

* * *

By the time she finally stopped to catch her breath, Lucy was lost. She hadn't a clue where she'd run to or even how far into Darkwood she'd gone. She collapsed to her knees beneath a tall oak tree whose branches reached wildly in every direction. Some seemed to wilt down onto the ground while others soared and twisted around one another right to the heavens. A long gash ran down the length of the trunk, looking as though it was centuries old and the bark had just never healed.

She swiped a hand over her face and pressed her back against the trunk, looking through the dark red leaves above her and searching for the stars. If she could just find the stars, she could figure out where home was. Her mother had taught her that much so many years ago.

After several minutes in silence, once her breaths had become more even, Lucy frowned. It wasn't that she couldn't see the stars - though that was frustrating - but that she could so clearly see the color of the leaves. The night was deep and dark around her, and somehow she was only just noticing how easily she'd been able to navigate this foreign forest. She cast her gaze around, but didn't see any strange motes of light or otherworldly beings that might be giving her more light. The tree itself wasn't glowing. Nothing was glowing.

It simply felt as though the true darkness in the night couldn't touch this place. How strange that it was called Darkwood, but it wasn't all that dark.

A single crimson leaf fluttered down to her lap, and she gently touched it with a small smile. Her fingers ran along the pale lavender veins and pointed edges before she finally lifted it to her lips and pressed a tender kiss to the leaf. Her head tipped back against the trunk while she gazed up at the gnarled, arching boughs around her.

"Thank you," she whispered to no one in particular. Maybe it was the tree she was thanking, for giving her such a small gift that brightened a piece of her heart.

Maybe it was Darkwood itself, for creating some semblance of safety for her from the man she was supposed to marry.

Lucy's eyes filled with tears at the thought. She'd begged her father not to accept Ivan's proposal. Even when he'd confirmed that the marriage was to be for him and not his son Laxus - who was several years older than her, but still close enough in age that it wasn't revolting to even think of lying down with him - her father hadn't refused.

Ivan was older than her own father, and that still hadn't turned the men away from the idea. They hadn't cared about her own wants or needs in this.

Granted, Lucy didn't really like Laxus all that much. He was arrogant and showy on occasion, and the way he leered at her during functions in town put a bad taste in her mouth. But at least he wasn't old like Ivan.

At least Laxus wasn't a disgusting _murderer_ , like his father.

"Please keep me safe," she said, holding the leaf to her chest. Another leaf fell down and landed on her lap. "Please. Don't let him find me…" She didn't hear the soft shuffle of boots over grass only a few feet away. "Please… Keep me safe. Don't let him-"

"Don't let me find you?" Lucy's eyes snapped open to find Ivan glaring down at her. "Ah, my dearest Lucy," Ivan chuckled. "Such a silly little girl."

"I-Ivan, please," she whimpered. "Just leave me alone." She cried out when his hands locked around her arms with enough force to bruise, and he pulled her up to stand before him. Except he kept lifting until her feet no longer touched the ground, then bashed her body against the tree. "Please! Stop this!"

"You just had to be there," he sneered. "You had to see it."

"I-I won't say-" She grunted when he shook her and the bark from the tree etched deep trenches into her bare shoulders.

"Shut up! I know women like you," he hissed. "You say what I want to hear, and you plot behind my back!"

"I won't-"

"I said shut up!" Her head cracked against the tree when he shook her again, forcing bright stars into her eyes and sending her mind spinning. She wasn't aware that he'd thrown her to the ground until his legs were on either side of her crumpled body and his hands wound around her throat. "You're supposed to be my little trophy wife. Marry the richest man in town's daughter. Easy enough."

She tried in vain to claw at his arms when he started to squeeze. And all the while he glared down at her with those cold black eyes. She wondered if maybe he'd come from Darkwood himself, and had simply passed himself off as a mortal. Was he a demon of some sort, now in his element where she was so weak and defenseless?

"You weren't supposed to see," Ivan spat. "You were supposed to be a good little girl and come crying to me when you found him dead!"

Her hands felt heavy as she struggled to pull in air. The world around her spun wildly, and just before her eyes rolled back she saw the leaves hanging above them. Such a rich crimson. She'd never seen leaves so dark. So beautiful. At least if she was going to die, it would be somewhere like this. Somewhere lovely.

"Oh, I don't think so," Ivan hissed. His hand connected with her cheek hard enough to bring her vision back into startling focus. The hands around her throat were gone, and she coughed and sucked in as much air as possible. "You know, all this chasing you has been a little fun, Lucy."

Tears broke past her lashes when his hot breath scorched its way down her bruised throat. Her hands lifted to his chest to push him away, but Ivan beared down on her with more force.

"It's alright," he chuckled. "We'll be married anyway, won't we? No one needs to know about this."

"Ivan, no," she coughed. It had been stupid of her stop and rest. She should have known he would catch up to her. "Stop! I won't tell anyone."

"There's nothing to tell."

"R-Right," she sniffled, still pushing against his chest to keep his thin lips away from her. She cringed when his beard scratched along her cheek.

"Now give me what I want, Lucy," he rasped. Ivan gripped her wrists tightly and forced them to the ground, grinning when she began to struggle against him. "You still want to fight?"

She couldn't let him do this to her though. It didn't matter to her if she died in Darkwood, but there was no way she could allow Ivan to do something so vile. Lucy knew she wouldn't be able to fight him off, and she was already feeling sore from running for so long. But maybe, if she could trick him, maybe then she could get away. "Ivan, stop!" she screeched. His tongued slithered down her throat. "Oh my god… It's…"

"It'll be wonderful," he rasped.

"Demon!" Just as she'd hoped, his head shot up and he turned away from her. Just enough that Lucy was able to wriggle out from beneath him. She scrambled to her feet and dashed to a low branch on the oak tree looming over them. And she started to climb.

He wasn't an idiot though. He saw what she was doing, and with his legs being so much longer, Ivan closed the space between them in no time at all. She'd barely been able to reach for the next branch above her before his arms locked around her waist. Lucy held tightly to it, kicking back at him even though she could feel bark digging into her, scratching at her arms.

"Someone… Anyone… Help me! Please, help me!" she cried. Her eyes rounded when she lost her grip on the branch. Ivan threw her away from the tree, and a sharp, pained cry broke past her lips when she hit the ground. He loomed over her, panting with wild, crazed eyes full of hatred. Lucy tried to crawl away, but she couldn't move. A soft breeze flowed through Darkwood, sending those same deep crimson leaves fluttering down around her.

"You really think anyone can hear you?" Ivan sneered down at her, taking a step forward and then another. "You're alone here, Lucy. I'm the only one who could have saved you from this place."

"Please, Ivan. Don't do this," she said through her tears.

"It's too late for that." He lunged for her and Lucy's eyes slammed shut. Maybe if she just didn't watch, it wouldn't hurt her. Maybe she could ignore everything, force her mind somewhere else while he took everything from her. Maybe he would show mercy and kill her afterward.

"Wh-What is this?!" Ivan shrieked.

Her eyes opened and she found Ivan dangling several feet above her with a thick branch wrapped around his stomach. Blood red leaves turned on their stems and speared into his flailing arms and legs.

"What has he done to you?" a soft, gravelly voice asked. Lucy gasped at the gentle touch of leaves against her cheek, turning her attention from Ivan and toward the trunk of the great oak. A man, not much older than herself in appearance, gazed down at her while stepping away from the tree. Out of the tree, actually. She was entranced by the sight of his body shifting from tree bark to something closer to normal skin that was a rich tan, several shades darker than Ivan's. A cluster of crimson leaves and rich green moss covered his groin, but the rest of him was bare. Except Lucy couldn't find it in herself to pay much attention to how his body looked. Not when she looked at his face.

"Get away from her, monster!" Ivan bellowed.

The man's only eye was a vibrant indigo, a wholly unnatural color for an eye to be, with an exotic tilt that made it appear more narrow. His lips were thin and his nose flat with the smallest upturn at the tip. Where his other eye should have been, was nothing more than a scar over a closed eyelid. He came to kneel in front of her and Lucy trembled as his hands gently moved beneath her shoulders to help her sit. He was so close, she could see the dark crimson of his hair, spiked in every direction. His long, pointed ears. Either she was dreaming, or this was a Fae. She'd really met a Fae.

"What has he done?" the man asked again. "Tell me."

She didn't want to say a word, but a tender warmth spread beneath her scalp and sent the words falling from her lips. "He forced me into a marriage contract, then killed my father," she said. "I saw the murder, and… And he was going to…" She shivered and bile rose in her throat. "Force himself on me."

"I'll kill you!" Ivan bellowed, still wriggling in the branches binding him. "Lucy, you good-for-nothing wretch. You shut your mouth!"

The man's head tilted slightly and he brushed her dirt-encrusted blonde hair back from her face. "Your name is Lucy?"

"Yes," she said, though she hadn't wanted to.

He gave a small smile that set her a little more at ease. Leaves rustled around her, flittering across her cheek and shoulders. "It's a beautiful human name," he said. "I guess you could call me Erik, if you wanted to."

"I-If I wanted…?"

"I don't have a name anymore, but that used to be my name. When I was human." His hand curved around her cheek and drew her closer. "Would you say my name?"

There was a harsh gag that caught her attention, and Lucy glanced toward Ivan and found him struggling more insistently than before with several branches from the tree wound about his neck. His face had turned an alarming shade of purple.

"Don… -ay…" Ivan rasped.

Erik turned her back toward him, brushing his nose along hers and keeping their eyes locked. "Would you say my name?" he whispered. "It's been so long since I've heard it."

The warmth coursing through her rose steadily until Lucy felt as though she was burning from within. Erik smelled heavenly, just like the large tree he'd come from. His hands were coarse against her flesh, but softer than his tree. "What are you?" she asked, breathless while his arm wrapped around her shoulders. She couldn't find it in herself to be concerned about his proximity, or the fact that his chest was suddenly beneath her trembling hands.

"Won't you say my name?" he chuckled. "Lucy… Can't I hear it from those beautiful lips?"

"Erik…" A slow grin stretched across his thin lips and she heard a very loud crack sound from the air above them. Then a low thud as something hit the ground. Lucy broke away from his piercing gaze and peeked around him to find Ivan lying in a lifeless heap, with his eyes wide and unseeing and his mouth opened on a silent scream. "Wh-What have you done?"

"You asked for my help," Erik said. His fingers brushed across her jaw. "You asked for me, and I came to you."

"I never asked you to kill him!"

Erik's smile stayed in place while she crawled backwards, out of his grasp. He simply crawled after her. "You asked me to keep you safe, Lucy. I couldn't stop him from finding you, and I'm sorry for that. But you took my leaves when I offered them. You tried to use me to get away from him."

She shivered when his hands gently clasped hers.

"You trusted me to help you," he said. "I'm sorry it took so long for me to come. It's been so long since I left my tree."

"What are you… what are you talking about?"

"And now that you've said my name, I can leave my tree whenever I wish."

"I don't understand," she said, shaking her head. She squeaked when his lips crashed against hers and sharp teeth she hadn't noticed before nipped at her lips. Her eyes were wide and horrified, and she drew back on a gasp before his tongue could spear into her mouth.

"I'm a dryad," he said. "Cursed to live as a tree forever." He kissed her again. It wasn't nearly as intense or desperate, just a tender pucker against her lips that drifted to her ear. "Artemis cursed me so long ago. She saw me cutting down a tree to use as kindling."

"You were cursed," Lucy said, frowning in confusion. "Because you cut down a tree?"

"Yeah," he chuckled, pulling back and staring down at his hands over hers. "I lost who I was before. Now I'm just…"

"Just Erik," she said softly, and his single eye snapped back toward her. She didn't understand a lot of what was happening, but she did remember some of the legends her mother used to tell her years ago about the Gods and their tempers. Some people were cursed for no real reason. But she'd always assumed they were nothing more than stories.

"You said it again," he said in awe.

"Is that a good thing?"

"One more time," he said, grinning excitedly. "Just one more, okay? Please."

"Why?"

"Please," he whispered. "Say it again." She tried to pull away when his hands rested on her arms - they were still very sore from Ivan grabbing her and tossing her around earlier - but she fell backward to the forest floor and he followed her. Erik didn't crawl on top of her like Ivan had, and instead laid on the soft grass beside her. "Please, Lucy. If you say my name again… Please say it."

"Why?" she asked again. "What does your name have to do with anything?"

"If you say it again, it'll break my curse," he said. "I'll finally be free."

Lucy bit her lips when he pulled her hands up and gently kissed her knuckles. He must have really been from another time, she reasoned. That was the only explanation for how openly affectionate he was. She didn't notice any sort of accent from him, but she'd never seen anyone who looked quite like him before. But she just didn't know if she could trust him. She knew for a fact that dryads were Fae-folk. And the Fae were the reason that no one was allowed to venture into Darkwood. They'd terrorized countless villagers until the humans had agreed to never step foot in the forest. And she'd broken that agreement, but she really hadn't had a choice.

Lucy didn't know if she could trust him, but maybe he would be willing to not lie to her if she asked him some questions. Hopefully.

"Can you tell me something?"

"Anything." He seemed so eager to please right then. That had to be a good sign.

"If I say it, will anything bad happen to me?"

Erik frowned at her and shifted closer. One hand slid up her arm and his fingers brushed across the forming bruises there. "Nothing worse than what that bastard did to you," he said. "You won't be hurt, I swear."

"And this is something that'll help you?" she asked. She did kind of owe him for helping to protect her from Ivan. "Just saying your name a third time?"

"It will," he said. "And you'll have to kiss me. I hope that's alright."

"K-Kiss you?"

"Just a small one," he chuckled. She could swear that his cheeks flushed a gentle pink when his eye drifted away from her. "Sorry if I got too excited before. It's just… It's been so long since anyone has been able to get me out of my tree… It takes me about a hundred years just to peek out on my own."

"A hundred years…"

"Will you please say it?"

She really wasn't sure about this. Something about it seemed so strange. Well, all of it was strange. This whole night was strange. Seeing Ivan kill her father, running for her life, nearly being taken advantage of by Ivan, and now talking with a Fae. An attractive one, but she was sure that all of his kind were oddly beautiful like this. So ethereal and breathtaking.

"Erik." She wasn't sure what made her say it, what made her desperate to trust him, but he had helped her when she would have died otherwise. And his smile once those two syllables passed her lips was so wide and so infectious that Lucy found herself leaning forward where they laid on the forest floor and bringing her lips to his without any prompting whatsoever.

It was only supposed to be a small kiss, just enough to fulfill his request. Except when she drew back, he followed, and she didn't want him to stop. Erik groaned as she rolled, pushing him onto his back and draping one leg across his hips. She finally pulled back for air and her hazy smile faded when she saw the dark glee shining in his eye.

"You moron," he chuckled.

"What?"

"Oh, say my name three times," he crooned, holding her in place when she tried to get away. A low, dark chuckle left him. "You humans are all the same. Just a little romance, just the right words, and that's all it takes."

"But you said…"

"That my name and a kiss would break my curse. I know." Erik rolled and forced Lucy to the ground beneath him, resting most of his weight on top of her. "Artemis never cursed me to be a dryad though."

"Y-You weren't a human?"

"No," he said. "I was. A long time ago. But I _asked_ her to make me like this."

"Then what curse…"

"Loneliness," he said. For the briefest of moments, she saw some sort of vulnerability in his eye. Was he really telling her the truth? "The woman I loved broke my heart. She left me for Apollo, Artemis' twin brother. So, I asked Artemis to make the pain go away forever." A bitter laugh left him then. "There was a catch though, and I wish I'd seen it sooner. She'd said that I would be a dryad - the first male she'd ever made like this - that I'd watch over this forest and the animals within it forever. I hadn't thought about it at the time, but…"

A sharp tingling sensation rippled across Lucy's body and she gasped when he sat up. She couldn't move though. Why couldn't she move? No matter what she did, no matter how her hands or feet tried to shift and find purchase on the ground, nothing worked.

"I've been alone for so long," he said. "The pain of Kin... _her_... leaving me went away after a few years, but then… I've been so alone. It's just me in this forest." He smiled down at her and stroked her hair. "Until now."

"Wh-What?"

"Saying my name had nothing to do with it," he said. An alarmed squeak caught in her throat when she felt his hands moving to the bottom hem of her nightdress and slowly moving it higher. "All you had to do was kiss me. And now, you'll be like me. I just wanted to hear you say my name. It sounds so perfect when you say it."

Her cheeks burned brilliantly when her clothes were fully removed. She watched as vines crept down from another tree and took the white silk away, further into the forest, leaving her bare and ashamed of the fact that he was seeing her like this.

"Sweet Gods, are you beautiful," he breathed. Erik frowned when he looked back into her eyes and found tears streaming down the sides of her face. "I won't hurt you."

"Really?" she spat. "Because th-this… I can't…"

"Artemis gave me the ability to choose a bride," he said. "To make a woman like myself, so I'd never lose her again. I was a good man to the woman I loved. I gave her everything she desired."

"I d-don't want to marry you!"

"You already have, by giving me a kiss." Erik stood and then carefully lifted her into his arms to carry her back to the trunk of his tree.

"I didn't know! You never told me!" Why was it that she could speak, even turn her head, but she couldn't move anything else? Was this what it was like to become a Fae? Was she really becoming a dryad, just like him?

Erik adjusted Lucy's body so she was leaning against the trunk of his tree, and held her up with his arms around her naked waist. "Artemis is a protector of women and nature," he said. "Had I been human and seen what that man was doing, I would have acted sooner. But she's made me peaceful, Lucy. Still, seeing what he was doing to you, I couldn't let it continue. My goddess, _our_ goddess, protects the virtue of women. And it's because of that… I won't force myself on you. I do hope that one day, you'll come to my tree and ask me to be yours."

"I-I'll never do that," she hissed, ignoring her tears.

"We'll be together forever," he said, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead. "Your own tree will be beside mine forever. And no one will ever hurt you again. In these woods, you'll always be safe. And as time goes on, I'll teach you all there is to being a dryad."

He moved her again, holding her limp body tightly to him while carrying her only a few feet from his oak tree. Her feet touched the ground and Lucy gasped in horror when she started sinking into the earth up to her ankles. "Erik, what's happening?!"

"Your roots are setting," he said. "Don't worry. I'll be right here the whole time. There's nothing to be afraid of."

"But my life back in town! I-I can't stay here!" Her fingers twitched against her thighs and she felt thick vines slithering over her, strengthening her body to support the weight of the tree she would become.

"What life?" he asked. "You told me your father's dead. I can tell by looking in your eyes that your mother's gone as well. And you seem like an only child. There's no family to return to."

"You can't just decide this for me!"

Erik sighed and pulled her hands up to rest on his chest. He smiled down at the tips of her fingers when he saw them starting to shift in color and the beginnings of small twigs growing from her knuckles. "Lucy, everything will be fine."

"I hate you," she sniffled. "I hate you so much."

"You know, that's something I'm used to," he said. Still, Erik kissed her fingers, then leaned forward and pressed soft kisses along her teary cheeks. "You'll be the most beautiful tree I've ever seen. Just hold me, Lucy. I won't leave you."

And even though she wanted nothing to do with him, when the strength returned to her hands and arms, she didn't fight him. She could feel how sturdy her legs had become where they were fused together into a thick trunk up to her hips. There was no getting away from this fate. She wanted to hate Erik, and she did for what he'd done to her. What he'd convinced her to do. And still, her arms wrapped around him and her head dropped to his shoulder while she cried. She still sought comfort from him, because who else was there that could give it to her? She was terrified. Lucy had never wanted to live like this. She'd never wanted immortality.

His fingers sifted through her hair and his quiet voice filled the air around them. He hummed an ancient, foreign song between her sobs and somehow it was enough to soften her voice, to soothe her fears for a little while.

"Sleep now," he said. "I'll be here when you wake up, Lucy. I'll always be here for you."

Her eyes fluttered closed as the first pieces of bark crept up her throat and onto her face. She barely felt him kissing her one last time, but that didn't matter to her. She was so tired. All that running from Ivan, the stress of the night, the worries of what her life would become with a husband she couldn't stand to even look at - everything melted away as she slowly drifted from the real world and further into her dreams.

* * *

Erik let out a quiet hum as cool droplets of water fell down onto his bare chest through the trees. He looked up toward the boughs overhead, following his own branches toward the tree just beside his own, and grinned while leaning back against Lucy's trunk. She hadn't been asleep for very long, but he was definitely happy that it was raining. She needed the extra water, being such a young dryad.

And by the Gods, she was a beautiful tree. Even though she hadn't grown as tall just yet, he could tell that she would thrive in no time. Especially since he made sure to feed his own magic right into her roots to help her grow. Her leaves were still mostly light green and her branches were thin. Her bark wasn't fully formed just yet, so he could still see her human form in the trunk, with her arms raised above her head and her head tipped back just slightly. She may have been upset over her fate, but being able to see the serene smile lifting her plump lips set him at ease.

He hadn't meant to call her a moron after she'd kissed him. He hadn't meant to make her feel bad about her choice to be with him. Granted, Erik hadn't told Lucy just what she was signing up for, but how could he? She never would have done it. She would have left him for good, never to return. He would have been alone once more, and there was no telling how many centuries would pass before another young woman came close enough.

He hadn't been able to stop himself from helping Lucy. Even with Artemis' voice in his head, telling him that humans were trespassing and this was their fate, Erik hadn't been able to just leave her like that. He couldn't let that man force himself on her. He couldn't watch as such a beautiful woman was tarnished by a man's hatred. Luckily for him - and for Lucy - Artemis had relented. She'd allowed him to break from his tree long enough to remove the threat from Darkwood.

"I'm not sure if I approve of this." Erik's head turned to find the familiar, echoing voice in the form of a doe walking toward him and Lucy's tree. She came closer and he moved between her and Lucy's tree, then bowed low. "You did this to her against her will."

"You promised me," he said softly. "You promised I'd have a woman to love me." He sighed when the doe's nose brushed along his pointed ear. "I know I should have told her the truth. I'm sorry every day that passes that I didn't do just that. Lucy should have had a choice in this as well. I just..."

"You've been alone long enough," the doe said, drawing his gaze over to her. "And you did protect a woman, just as I would have done. Thank you for that, Erik. You've been a loyal follower for many years, and you do deserve happiness."

"Sometimes it doesn't feel like it," he said while lifting his head. He gazed back at Lucy's bark-covered face. "I doubt she'll think that when she wakes up."

He really couldn't help but feel guilty for what he'd done to Lucy. So many days had passed already with him simply watching her grow, waiting for the day she would wake again. He knew he deserved her anger. He'd asked for his life, and she'd done nothing of the sort. She hadn't wanted this. He'd forced it on her, tricked her. She'd seemed so angry, so hurt, so betrayed by what he'd done. It had definitely been a surprise to feel a sudden pang in his chest when he saw her crying because of him.

The doe walked around him and nuzzled Lucy's tree. "I think this woman may surprise you, Erik. Her heart is pure."

"I could've told you that," he muttered.

"She can grow to love you. Tend to her during this precarious time. You've always had an affinity for nature, and this form of yours has only enhanced it." His eye closed when the doe turned back to him. "Care for her, and I'm sure she'll do the same for you."

He nodded in silence and watched as his goddess walked away, through the trees, and disappeared from his sight. A gentle breeze brushed across his skin and he inhaled the scents of the forest. Something new caught his attention, a scent that was familiar but strange, and he followed it to Lucy's tree. His nose pressed against her bark and slid higher over her hip to the dip in her waist, between her breasts, and along her throat until his lips were nearly against hers. Why was it that she smelled so sweet? So alluring? Erik let out a shaky breath while feeling her bark against his flesh. His arms wrapped around her slowly. Even though she wasn't awake, and would never know that he'd held her like this, he was still careful. The last thing Erik wanted was for her to wake up too soon.

"You need your rest," he said. His hands glided around her trunk. "I promise to take care of you. You'll be strong and healthy, a beautiful dryad. My beautiful wife." She didn't move when he finally kissed her. There was no response from the slumbering woman while his trembling fingers traced the lines of her face, every line of her body, while his lips moved over hers. "Just rest, Lucy. I'll be here for you. Always."

* * *

She woke with a gasp and found him standing before her, looking so human, so familiar. His single eye, a scar bisecting the other and closing it forever, dark maroon hair and sun-kissed skin. That smile as he gazed at her was something she'd seen before.

Where had she seen it before?

Where had she seen _him_ before?

She shivered and saw golden leaves fluttering down from the air. Where had those come from? She wanted to move around, but something held her in place. Before she could panic though, his hands rested on her cheeks.

"You're finally awake." His voice was so soft. Soothing. Her lips lifted in a contented smile and she tried in vain to lean into him. "It's alright. Just relax. Let me help you, alright?" She saw his face coming closer, and nothing in her wanted to pull away. She welcomed his warm lips moving over hers, his hands drifting down the column of her throat and winding around her, pulling her from something thick and fibrous that wanted to keep her in place. "Tell me if it hurts, love." She kissed him again and moments later her hands were free and tangling in his long maroon hair, pulling him closer still. She felt his warmth against her chest, wrapped around her waist, as he breathed life into her once again.

One foot touched the soft grass, then the other, and she sighed into the kiss when she felt the chilled morning dew kissing the her soles.

"Good morning," he chuckled against her lips.

She hummed and sent him a soft smile, then rested her head on his chest. Why was he so familiar? Why did she feel like this was where she belonged? How was it that she knew, deep down, she'd been sleeping for a very long time? It made her wonder how long she'd been asleep though, and what she must have missed.

"How long was I sleeping?" she asked.

"Seventy years," he said. "Your tree is so perfect."

"Tree?" She turned in his arms and gazed up at the massive oak tree with golden yellow leaves on its boughs high above them. Half of the branches knotted around those from another tree, one with dark red leaves, and seemed to be holding them up and away from the ground. "It's amazing."

"You're amazing," he whispered into her ear. "I never knew your heart was so full of love that you could lift my branches again."

"I don't understand…" Her head rested on his shoulder while he took her hands in his, guiding them from her throat down the length of her body. Something soft covered her breasts, and she glanced down to find pale green moss protecting her most intimate of parts from sight. She wasn't appalled by it, but it was odd. She couldn't remember ever looking like this. For some reason, she could only catch small wisps of memories, but in them she was always wearing soft, flowing gowns. She wasn't nude or even in a forest.

"This must be confusing for you," he said.

"Very…"

"Well, do you remember my name?"

She turned toward him and his warm smile had her own lips lifting just slightly. "Erik." She hadn't a clue how she remembered it, but the name felt right. His arms tightened around her and his smile grew wider. She must have been right.

"And do you remember yours?" he asked.

She bit her lips and looked at him for a hint. When he said nothing, she looked around them, to the trees and foliage. Up toward the pale blue sky she could see between golden and red leaves. "I don't know," she said.

"Your name is Lucy," he said softly. "And you're my wife."

"We're married?"

"Yes," he chuckled.

"And I slept for so long…"

"You needed your rest," he said. "Changing from a human into one of our kind takes a lot out of a person."

"I'm… not a human?" She felt like that should have scared her more than it really did.

"Not for a long time."

"What am I now?" Her eyes closed when he kissed her cheek. Had he always been this affectionate?

"The most beautiful dryad I've ever seen," he said. "A mother to Darkwood, and a loyal servant to Artemis."

Artemis sounded familiar. "Mother?" she asked, her brows pinching together.

"When your tree began to grow," he said, lacing their fingers together, "New plants started growing as well. Your roots fed life back into these woods. Even the animals seem happier now that you're here."

She smiled and slowly took a step away from him, keeping their hands clasped. "Will you show me?" she asked.

"Everything and more," Erik said. "Are you mad at me?"

"Why would I be mad?"

He shook his head and led her away from their trees down to a creek that fed into the nearby town. "You were upset with me when you fell asleep," he said. "I'd hoped that by the time you woke up, you would've forgiven me."

"I don't remember being mad at you at all." She laughed as a doe and its fawn came wandering closer, and held out her hand for them to sniff. The deer bypassed her hand, however, and nuzzled against her sides. Then her throat and face.

"They all know who you are," he said. "That you're the reason for everything we have here."

"I couldn't be," she said, and her cheeks burned when she heard his quiet chuckle. "I was sleeping, remember?"

Erik led her away from the deer and they walked slowly through the creek, following it upstream until they reached the edge of Darkwood. "This used to be your home. The edge of Darkwood marks the far end of our home. We can't leave this place, Lucy."

Lucy frowned at the buildings with their shingled roofs, streets lined with cobblestones, horses pulling carts full of produce. None of it looked familiar to her. Nothing made her mind snap into focus with crystalline memories of a life she'd once lived. "I don't remember it."

Erik's arm wrapped around her waist and he directed her along the edge of the forest. "There's something you should see though," he said. "And even though you don't remember, I won't hide it from you."

They stopped once again in the place where Lucy had first entered Darkwood decades prior. She took a shaky breath while gazing at the grass, and a flash of something frightening shot through her stomach. She remembered harsh, quick steps and twigs biting into her feet, but nothing more. Lucy's gaze lifted from her feet when Erik's finger hooked under her chin.

"We can walk here," he said, "But we can't stay long. Since you've just woken up, we'll only be able to stay a few minutes."

"How come?"

"You need to be by your tree, love. You'll get sick if you aren't close enough so soon after waking up."

She nodded and held his hand tightly as he led her out of Darkwood and closer to a large marble statue. Once they were in front of it, Lucy's mouth went dry at the sight of something so familiar to her. Why had someone made a statue of her, standing with her hands held out at her sides and smiling toward the heavens? The hair was too short - Lucy's reached down to her hips in gentle waves, not at her shoulders like that statue - and she really didn't like how she looked in that carved slip of a dress. It just didn't feel like it was who she was.

"You were loved by the people here," Erik said softly. She turned to find his single eye staring at the statue as well. "When you disappeared, it was tragic. The birds told me what was happening in the town, and I made an appearance for the first time in years. They had to know you hadn't died."

"I-I don't understand," she said. A beautiful red bird landed on the statue's hand and chirped a happy song of welcome. She wasn't sure how she knew that was what it meant, but it felt right. "Why would they do this?"

"Momma, look!"

Lucy gasped and whirled in place at the young, shrill voice that sounded just behind them, only to find a child holding tightly to his mother's hand, smiling so wide with wonder. She was suddenly very aware of how little of her body was hidden from sight. Her hands trembled and her heart instantly pounded against her ribs as she took a small step closer to the forest.

"It's her!" the boy yelled. "Darkwood's princess is here! She's real, Momma!"

Lucy looked into the woman's eyes for only a moment, before shuffling behind Erik to keep herself hidden. "Erik, I-I don't like this…"

He gave the woman a kind smile and a short nod. "She's awake," he told her before turning to Lucy. "We should get back." She nodded quickly as he pulled her into his arms. She watched the boy's eyes widen in shock as roots shot up from the earth and encapsulated herself and Erik, then pulled them down into the ground. She could feel them moving through the soil. How odd a sensation it was to be moving without being able to see where they were going. "Are you feeling better?"

She looked up into his single, burning eye and took a deep breath filled with the earthy aroma that wafted off of him. "Well…"

"Maybe we should have waited," he said, frowning as he stopped them from moving. "Maybe it was too much so soon."

She smiled when his nose nestled in her hair. His hands were so gentle while caressing her shoulders and down the length of her spine. "Erik, do you love me?"

"I've spent the last seventy years watching over you," he laughed. "I fell in love with you the moment I saw you."

"And you still love me, even though I don't remember any of it?"

"I do." Her heart fluttered in her chest, and the roots around them rippled slightly. They pushed against her back and his, forcing the two to meet in a passionate kiss. "I really do, Lucy."

By the time they reached the little copse holding their intertwined oak trees, Lucy was no longer aware of their surroundings. She didn't care that they broke through the ground and she was pinned to his tree, or that she started slowly melding into the bark instead of being scraped by it while Erik's hips rolled into her. And when night crept over Darkwood, the two Fae slept within Erik's tree. Her own roots had grown into his, twisting together so she was still close enough to it to be safe. They stayed curled around one another and slumbered peacefully together. Just as they would for centuries to come.

 _ **.The End.**_

* * *

 ** _Update:_ I'm not super happy with the end of this. I'm fully aware that Lucy was forced into it, and I'm not trying to hand-wave that away. It was intentional. It's actually pretty creepy how Cobra goes about doing this, and that's kinda the point of it all. On the surface, it may seem romantic, but beneath that, it's creepy. I meant for it to be that way. Several reviews pointed that out, so I'm putting this note here to let you guys know that was my intention.**

 **I hope you guys enjoyed this, and I've had so much fun participating in this pairing week. I'm really hoping I'll be back from my hiatus before too long. It's been a wonderful ride all eight days of this pairing week, and your reviews have meant the world to me, even with all the crazy back and forth between stories. Don't forget, I'll be posting the final chapter for** _ **Who Says Fairy Tales Are Normal?**_ **in a few days to give everyone time to catch up with all the crazy long chapters and all the other amazing entries that have come out this week.**


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